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 $30-$48k for a Master's 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:
After analyzing 164 schools in the Great Lakes Region , we came up with our list of those that offered the best value Master'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 Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, we first consider its average net price of students from families making $30-$48k 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 quality 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 $30-$48k) school for master’s degrees in the Great Lakes Region for overall quality. UChicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and has a fairly large student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
University of Chicago has the honor of being ranked #1 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
The quality degree programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois.
Not only is Northwestern University a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Illinois for overall quality.
The quality degree programs at Purdue University - Main Campus helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region. Located in West Lafayette, Indiana, the school is a large public institution.
Purdue University - Main Campus has the honor of being ranked #2 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
The quality degree programs at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region. U-M is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Not only is University of Michigan - Ann Arbor a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Michigan for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
A rank of #5 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region list means University of Wisconsin - Madison is a great place for students working on their degree. UW - Madison is a large public school situated in Madison, Wisconsin.
Not only is University of Wisconsin - Madison a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Wisconsin for overall quality.
came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
University of Notre Dame landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Notre Dame, Indiana, the school is a fairly large private not-for-profit institution.
University of Notre Dame has the honor of being ranked #1 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school located in Champaign, Illinois.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has the honor of being ranked #3 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #9. IU Bloomington is a large public school situated in Bloomington, Indiana.
Indiana University - Bloomington has the honor of being ranked #3 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Michigan State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Michigan State is located in East Lansing, Michigan and has a large student population. It is a public school.
Michigan State University has the honor of being ranked #2 in Michigan for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Michigan Technological University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Michigan Tech is located in Houghton, Michigan and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
Michigan Technological University has the honor of being ranked #3 in Michigan for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Columbus, Ohio, the school is a large public institution.
Not only is Ohio State University - Main Campus a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Ohio for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at Ohio State University - Main Campus
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis ranked #13 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region list. IUPUI is located in Indianapolis, Indiana and has a large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis a great value, but it is also ranked #7 in Indiana for overall quality.
Read full value report on Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis
Ball State University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ball State is a public institution located in Muncie, Indiana.
Not only is Ball State University a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in Indiana for overall quality.
Indiana University - Kokomo landed the #15 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Kokomo, Indiana is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is Indiana University - Kokomo a great value, but it is also ranked #31 in Indiana for overall quality.
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW - La Crosse is located in La Crosse, Wisconsin and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse is ranked #4 for quality in the state of Wisconsin.
Learn More About Value at University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
With a ranking of #17, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the school is a large public institution.
Not only is University of Illinois at Chicago a great value, but it is also ranked #12 in Illinois for overall quality.
University of Michigan - Dearborn did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #18. Located in Dearborn, Michigan, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
University of Michigan - Dearborn has the honor of being ranked #8 in Michigan for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Indiana University - Northwest came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. IU Northwest is a public institution located in Gary, Indiana.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Indiana University - Northwest is ranked #26 for quality in the state of Indiana.
Indiana University - Southeast ranked #19 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in New Albany, Indiana, the school is a small public institution.
Indiana University - Southeast has the honor of being ranked #23 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Wisconsin - Platteville came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Platteville, Wisconsin is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
University of Wisconsin - Platteville has the honor of being ranked #9 in Wisconsin for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of St Francis came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Joliet, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
University of St Francis has the honor of being ranked #16 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Oakland University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, the school is a fairly large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Oakland University is ranked #15 for quality in the state of Michigan.
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater ranked #24 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Whitewater, Wisconsin, the school is a fairly large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater is ranked #11 for quality in the state of Wisconsin.
Andrews University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #25. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
Not only is Andrews University a great value, but it is also ranked #10 in Michigan for overall quality.
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These schools also performed well in our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Indiana University - East | Richmond, IN | Value Report |
| 27 | Indiana University - South Bend | South Bend, IN | Value Report |
| 28 | University of Southern Indiana | Evansville, IN | Value Report |
| 28 | University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire | Eau Claire, WI | Value Report |
| 30 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI | Value Report |
| 31 | Purdue University Northwest | Hammond, IN | Value Report |
| 32 | University of Illinois at Springfield | Springfield, IL | Value Report |
| 33 | Governors State University | University Park, IL | Value Report |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.