by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a degree. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Best Great Lakes Region Schools For The Money For Those Making $0-$30k for a Doctorate ranking - to help you make that decision. This list is proof that you shouldn't avoid normally high-priced schools, since the actual price may be very affordable if you qualify for financial aid.
In This Year's Value Report:
Our analysis looked at 106 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones have the best value Doctor's Degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best value schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
To calculate the value of a school in our Best Doctor's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, we first consider its average net price of students from families making $0-$30k a year. The net price is the sum of room and board, tuition, and fees minus any financial aid that that the student receives. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a good education, not just how much it costs.
To make it into this list a school must offer a quality education like the schools in our Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considers factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Find out more about our best value ranking methodology.
You can scroll down to see the top schools for this ranking, but you may also want to view some of the other ranking methods listed below.
Know what field you want to major in? Make sure you check out our best value schools by major. In addition, you can select one of the links below to see the best value colleges for other degree levels.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
University of Chicago tops this year’s ranking as the best value (income $0-$30k) school for doctor’s degrees in the Great Lakes Region for overall quality. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Chicago is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Out of the 106 doctor’s degree schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #2 spot on the list. Purdue University - Main Campus is a large public school located in West Lafayette, Indiana.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Purdue University - Main Campus is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Indiana.
Out of the 106 doctor’s degree schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan State University landed the #3 spot on the list. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Michigan State University is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Michigan.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. U-M is a large public school situated in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Michigan.
Read full value report on University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
The quality degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Madison helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school is a large public institution.
University of Wisconsin - Madison has the honor of being ranked #1 in Wisconsin for overall quality on top of being a good value.
came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
With a ranking of #7, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Evanston, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Northwestern University is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Illinois.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school located in Champaign, Illinois.
Not only is University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in Illinois for overall quality.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Value Report
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #9 on this year’s Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. IU Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and has a large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Indiana University - Bloomington is ranked #3 for quality in the state of Indiana.
University of Notre Dame landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Notre Dame, Indiana, the school is a fairly large private not-for-profit institution.
Not only is University of Notre Dame a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Indiana for overall quality.
Michigan Technological University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Houghton, Michigan, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Michigan Technological University is ranked #3 for quality in the state of Michigan.
With a ranking of #12, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio State is located in Columbus, Ohio and has a large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Ohio State University - Main Campus is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Ohio.
Ball State University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ball State is located in Muncie, Indiana and has a large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Ball State University is ranked #5 for quality in the state of Indiana.
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the #14 spot on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. IUPUI is a large public school situated in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Not only is Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in Indiana for overall quality.
Read full value report on Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis
With a ranking of #15, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - La Crosse is a fairly large public school situated in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Not only is University of Wisconsin - La Crosse a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in Wisconsin for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
With a ranking of #16, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. This large public school is located in Chicago, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Illinois at Chicago is ranked #7 for quality in the state of Illinois.
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater ranked #17 on this year’s Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Whitewater is a public institution located in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
Not only is University of Wisconsin - Whitewater a great value, but it is also ranked #4 in Wisconsin for overall quality.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #18 spot on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. SIUE is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is ranked #16 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Learn More About Value at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
With a ranking of #19, Ferris State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Big Rapids, Michigan is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Ferris State University is ranked #10 for quality in the state of Michigan.
With a ranking of #20, Grand Valley State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Allendale, Michigan, the school is a large public institution.
Not only is Grand Valley State University a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in Michigan for overall quality.
University of Illinois at Springfield came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UIS is located in Springfield, Illinois and has a small student population. It is a public school.
Not only is University of Illinois at Springfield a great value, but it is also ranked #17 in Illinois for overall quality.
Read full value report on University of Illinois at Springfield
University of Michigan - Dearborn landed the #22 spot on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UM Dearborn is located in Dearborn, Michigan and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
University of Michigan - Dearborn has the honor of being ranked #13 in Michigan for overall quality on top of being a good value.
With a ranking of #23, Oakland University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large public school is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
Not only is Oakland University a great value, but it is also ranked #11 in Michigan for overall quality.
With a ranking of #24, Andrews University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Andrews is a private not-for-profit institution located in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
Not only is Andrews University a great value, but it is also ranked #4 in Michigan for overall quality.
Grace College and Theological Seminary did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctor’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #25. Grace College and Theological Seminary is a small private not-for-profit school located in Winona Lake, Indiana.
Not only is Grace College and Theological Seminary a great value, but it is also ranked #4 in Indiana for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at Grace College and Theological Seminary
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.