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 Plains States Region Schools For The Money For Those Getting Aid 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 266 schools in the Plains States Region , we came up with our list of those that offered the best value 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.
The first step of determing the value of a school in our Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking is to look at the school's average net price - the sum of tuition, fees, and room and board minus any financial aid awarded to the student. 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:
Our 2024 rankings named Mayo Clinic School of Medicine the best value (with aid) school in the Plains States Region . Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Rochester, Minnesota.
The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $11,188 a year.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region list means St Charles Community College is a great place for students working on their degree. This medium-sized public school is located in Cottleville, Missouri.
Not only is St Charles Community College a great value, but it is also ranked #16 in Missouri for overall quality. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $2,364 a year.
Out of the 266 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Metropolitan Community College landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large public school is located in Omaha, Nebraska.
Metropolitan Community College has the honor of being ranked #7 in Nebraska for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $4,916 a year.
The quality degree programs at Ranken Technical College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region. Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Ranken Technical College is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Missouri. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $13,227.
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region list means Hennepin Technical College is a great place for students working on their degree. Hennepin Technical College is a small public school situated in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Not only is Hennepin Technical College a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in Minnesota for overall quality. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $11,194 a year.
Missouri University of Science and Technology did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Rolla, Missouri, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Missouri University of Science and Technology is ranked #3 for quality in the state of Missouri. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $13,589.
Full Missouri University of Science and Technology Value Report
State Technical College of Missouri did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #7. This small public school is located in Linn, Missouri.
Not only is State Technical College of Missouri a great value, but it is also ranked #15 in Missouri for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $7,361.
Learn More About Value at State Technical College of Missouri
Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Kansas City, Missouri.
Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City has the honor of being ranked #18 in Missouri for overall quality on top of being a good value. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $7,288.
Learn More About Value at Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City
Iowa State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #9. Ames, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is Iowa State University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Iowa for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $15,422.
Logan University landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking. Logan University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Chesterfield, Missouri.
The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $12,826 a year.
Des Moines Area Community College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking. DMACC is located in Ankeny, Iowa and has a large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Des Moines Area Community College is ranked #11 for quality in the state of Iowa. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $9,667.
St Cloud Technical and Community College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, the school is a small public institution.
St Cloud Technical and Community College has the honor of being ranked #32 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $8,404 a year.
Learn More About Value at St Cloud Technical and Community College
Garden City Community College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking. Garden City Community College is a public institution located in Garden City, Kansas.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Garden City Community College is ranked #9 for quality in the state of Kansas. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $7,694 a year.
With a ranking of #14, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region list. This large public school is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Not only is University of Minnesota - Twin Cities a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Minnesota for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $17,468.
University of Missouri - St Louis landed the #15 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking. UMSL is a public institution located in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Not only is University of Missouri - St Louis a great value, but it is also ranked #11 in Missouri for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $10,525.
Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region list. WSU Tech is located in Wichita, Kansas and has a small student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology a great value, but it is also ranked #4 in Kansas for overall quality. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $9,823 a year.
Full Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology Value Report
With a ranking of #17, Bismarck State College did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region list. This small public school is located in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Not only is Bismarck State College a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in North Dakota for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $10,249.
With a ranking of #18, Dakota County Technical College did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region list. DCTC is located in Rosemount, Minnesota and has a small student population. It is a public school.
Dakota County Technical College has the honor of being ranked #15 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $11,472 a year.
Southeast Community College Area landed the #19 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Southeast Community College Area is ranked #13 for quality in the state of Nebraska. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $7,593.
Ozarks Technical Community College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking. OTC is a fairly large public school situated in Springfield, Missouri.
Ozarks Technical Community College has the honor of being ranked #29 in Missouri for overall quality on top of being a good value. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $6,669.
Read full value report on Ozarks Technical Community College
Century College did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #21. Located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
Century College has the honor of being ranked #25 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $10,901 a year.
Lake Area Technical Institute landed the #22 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking. This small public school is located in Watertown, South Dakota.
Not only is Lake Area Technical Institute a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in South Dakota for overall quality. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $13,069 a year.
Truman State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #23. Located in Kirksville, Missouri, the school is a small public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Truman State University is ranked #13 for quality in the state of Missouri. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $11,470 a year.
With a ranking of #24, University of Northern Iowa did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region list. Located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
University of Northern Iowa has the honor of being ranked #4 in Iowa for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $15,231 a year.
University of Iowa did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #25. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is University of Iowa a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Iowa for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $17,599.
Not only did these schools make the top 40 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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These schools also performed well in our Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in the Plains States Region ranking:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Dakota College at Bottineau | Bottineau, ND | Value Report |
| 42 | Inver Hills Community College | Inver Grove Heights, MN | Value Report |
| 43 | Western Iowa Tech Community College | Sioux City, IA | Value Report |
| 44 | Coffeyville Community College | Coffeyville, KS | Value Report |
| 45 | Crowder College | Neosho, MO | Value Report |
| 46 | Maharishi International University | Fairfield, IA | Value Report |
| 47 | Northeast Iowa Community College | Calmar, IA | Value Report |
| 47 | Saint Louis Community College | Bridgeton, MO | Value Report |
| 49 | Kirkwood Community College | Cedar Rapids, IA | Value Report |
| 50 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | Value Report |
| 51 | Indian Hills Community College | Ottumwa, IA | Value Report |
| 52 | Ridgewater College | Willmar, MN | Value Report |
| 53 | Anoka Technical College | Anoka, MN | Value Report |
| 54 | North Dakota State College of Science | Wahpeton, ND | Value Report |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.