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2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k

8 Ranked Colleges
361 Degrees Awarded
$21,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor's in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 the Great Lakes region, there were 989 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,283 and $31,567 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 361 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $75-$110k) in the Great Lakes Region

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 129 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $17,929 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend University of Chicago.

The low student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.

Read more about Public Policy at UChicago

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k list. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 66 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $16,784 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Policy at Northwestern University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k list. U-M is a large public school situated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It awarded 77 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is $18,039 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $20,270 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Illinois at Chicago

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Columbus, Ohio, this large public school handed out 29 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

Ohio State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State is $21,364 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Public Policy at Ohio State

#6

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k list. Located in East Lansing, Michigan, this large public school handed out 27 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

Michigan State also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Michigan State University is $25,389 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at Michigan State University

#7

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Olivet Nazarene University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k list. Olivet Nazarene University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Bourbonnais, Illinois. It awarded 2 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k list, Olivet Nazarene has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Olivet Nazarene is $21,306 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Olivet Nazarene University

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. DePaul University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 5 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $30,877 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend DePaul.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at DePaul University

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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.

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