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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

8 Ranked Colleges
361 Degrees Awarded
$21,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor's in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 6,199 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 116th most popular in the United States. 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 Getting Aid” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public policy programs, but they also cost less that 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

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 Getting Aid.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

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 for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 77 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend U-M is $15,336 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read full report on 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 Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s public policy 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. It costs about $13,312 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid per year to attend UIC.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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 UIC Public Policy Report

#3

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Michigan State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in East Lansing, Michigan, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s public policy degrees 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 $19,173 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Policy at Michigan State

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Columbus, Ohio, this large public school handed out 29 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid list, Ohio State has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State is $17,616 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default 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 University - Main Campus

#5

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 66 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

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 yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $24,664 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Northwestern Public Policy Report

#6

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Olivet Nazarene University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Olivet Nazarene is $20,195 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.

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 more about Public Policy at Olivet Nazarene

#7

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

University of Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. UChicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 129 bachelors’s public policy degrees 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 $27,315 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid per year to attend UChicago.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. 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.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Chicago

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 5 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend DePaul University is $30,090 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.

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%.

Full DePaul Public Policy Report

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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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