2022 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in Michigan

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

Public Policy is the 116th most popular major in the country with 6,199 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.

Across Michigan, there were 236 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,000 and $23,907 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in Michigan

#1

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan

#1 in overall quality

$5,887 Average Net Price

$56,526 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $30-$48k list. Ann Arbor, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 195 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our michigan public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, U-M has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Michigan” ranking. The yearly cost to attend U-M is $5,887 for Michigan Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at U-M

#2

University of Michigan - Dearborn

Dearborn, Michigan

#3 in overall quality

$8,057 Average Net Price

$47,536 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Dearborn. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $30-$48k list. Dearborn, Michigan is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our michigan public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, UM Dearborn has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Michigan” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Michigan - Dearborn is $8,057 for Michigan Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full UM Dearborn Public Policy Report

#3

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan

#2 in overall quality

$15,197 Average Net Price

$45,711 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Michigan State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $30-$48k. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 35 students in 2019-2020.

Michigan State also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Michigan” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Michigan State University is $15,197 for Michigan Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Michigan State Public Policy Report

• Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k)

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to The Official CTBTO Photostream.

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