2023 Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Great Lakes Region
7
Ranked Colleges
305
Degrees Awarded
$42,041
Avg Salary
With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s” ranking - to help you make that 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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 305 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,343 and $26,790 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public policy programs, but they also offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public policy program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s” list to help you make the college decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region bachelor’s degree vets studying public policy.
Top 7 Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Great Lakes Region
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 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 82 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
U-M also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking.Among the 47,907 students enrolled at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, 570 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 325 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $27,058. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor]](/colleges/university-of-michigan-ann-arbor/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s. UChicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 105 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
UChicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 241 of the 17,834 students enrolled at University of Chicago were GI Bill® students, of which 113 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $18,948. In addition to receiving other benefits, 58 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full UChicago Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s. Ohio State is a public institution located in Columbus, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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.Our most recent data shows that 2 of the 61,369 students enrolled at Ohio State were GI Bill® students, of which 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read More…
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s. UIC is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 26 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree vets studying public policy list, UIC has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking.Of the 33,518 students enrolled at UIC, 1 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $23,878. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. UIC offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, DePaul University landed the #5 spot on the list. DePaul is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree vets studying public policy list, DePaul has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 528 of the 21,922 students enrolled at DePaul University were GI Bill® students, of which 367 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $14,957. In addition to receiving other benefits, 101 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. DePaul University offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full DePaul Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #6, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s list. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 45 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking.Among the 22,603 students enrolled at Northwestern, 1 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $399. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, 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 97%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full Northwestern University Veteran Student Life Report
Michigan State University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Public Policy for a Bachelor’s list. Located in East Lansing, Michigan, this large public school awarded 13 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
Michigan State 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.According to our most recent data, Michigan State supports 49,695 students, and 2 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $14,686. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Michigan State]](/colleges/michigan-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
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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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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
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