2023 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
11
Ranked Colleges
946
Degrees Awarded
$21,100
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 6,430 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 113th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $21,866 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 946 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $49,270 and $20,394 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the public policy program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region public policy students with aid.
Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 225 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $14,878 for great lakes region public policy students with aid per year to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the #2 spot on the list. IUPUI is a large public school situated in Indianapolis, Indiana. It awarded 5 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
IUPUI also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis is $12,416 for Great Lakes Region Public Policy students with aid.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Policy at IUPUI
Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 27 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
UIC also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $13,214 for Great Lakes Region Public Policy students with aid per year to attend UIC.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UIC Public Policy Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. UW - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 96 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UW - Madison not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UW - Madison is $17,234 for Great Lakes Region Public Policy students with aid.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Public Policy at UW - Madison
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 in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. Northwestern University is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 45 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $23,279 for great lakes region public policy students with aid per year to attend Northwestern University.
The low undergrad 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 impressive undergraduate 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.
Read full report on Public Policy at Northwestern
Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 22 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
Ohio State also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $16,845 for Great Lakes Region Public Policy students with aid per year to attend Ohio State.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Policy at Ohio State
With a ranking of #7, Michigan State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in East Lansing, Michigan, this large public school awarded 30 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
Michigan State also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $19,058 for great lakes region public policy students with aid per year to attend Michigan State University.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Michigan State University Public Policy Report
University of Chicago did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 411 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UChicago is $28,517 for great lakes region public policy students with aid.
The undergraduate 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. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of Chicago Public Policy Report
Olivet Nazarene University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 4 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
Olivet Nazarene also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #11. The yearly cost to attend Olivet Nazarene University is $19,470 for Great Lakes Region Public Policy students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Olivet Nazarene University
DePaul University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 26 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region public policy students with aid list, DePaul has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $31,174 for Great Lakes Region Public Policy students with aid.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full DePaul Public Policy Report
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