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2023 Best Value Colleges for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

12 Ranked Colleges
1,238 Degrees Awarded
$21,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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 Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering is the 94th most popular major in the country with 8,001 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, aerospace and aeronautical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $70,535 and had an average of $24,126 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 1,238 aerospace and aeronautical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,742 and $23,948 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in aerospace and aeronautical engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great aerospace and aeronautical engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the aerospace and aeronautical engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” 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 by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region.

Top 12 Best Value Colleges for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

1
Purdue crest
Purdue University - Main Campus
West Lafayette, Indiana

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Purdue University - Main Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in West Lafayette, Indiana, and it awarded 426 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Purdue not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Purdue University - Main Campus is $13,377 for Great Lakes Region Aerospace Engineering students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Dayton. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region. This fairly large school is located in Dayton, Ohio, and it awarded 18 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our great lakes region aerospace engineering students list, UDayton has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Dayton is $29,928 for great lakes region aerospace engineering students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 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 more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at University of Dayton

3
WMU crest
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Michigan University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region. Western Michigan University is a fairly large public school situated in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It awarded 21 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WMU, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $20,371 for great lakes region aerospace engineering students per year to attend Western Michigan University.

Full Western Michigan University Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Report

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Cincinnati - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region. UC is located in Cincinnati, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 101 ’s aerospace engineering degrees to qualified students.

UC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $22,415 for Great Lakes Region Aerospace Engineering students per year to attend University of Cincinnati - Main Campus.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

5

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Akron Main Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Akron Main Campus is a public institution located in Akron, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

University of Akron Main Campus did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Akron Main Campus is $17,945 for Great Lakes Region Aerospace Engineering students.

Read full report on Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at University of Akron Main Campus

6

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s aerospace engineering degrees to 154 students in 2020-2021.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $14,321 for Great Lakes Region Aerospace Engineering students per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

7

Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ohio State is located in Columbus, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 93 ’s aerospace engineering degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our great lakes region aerospace engineering students list, Ohio State has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus is $16,845 for Great Lakes Region Aerospace Engineering 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at Ohio State

8

Kent State University at Kent came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Kent State University at Kent is a public institution located in Kent, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 11 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Kent State also made our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #12. It costs about $19,117 for great lakes region aerospace engineering students per year to attend Kent State.

Read full report on Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at Kent State University at Kent

9

With a ranking of #9, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. U-M is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 264 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at U-M, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $14,878 for Great Lakes Region Aerospace Engineering students per year to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

10

Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 31 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Tech is $23,772 for great lakes region aerospace engineering students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full Illinois Tech Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Report

11

With a ranking of #11, Case Western Reserve University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Case Western Reserve University is a fairly large school located in Cleveland, Ohio that handed out 33 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Case Western also made our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend Case Western is $34,214 for Great Lakes Region Aerospace Engineering students.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University

12
Notre Dame crest
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana

University of Notre Dame ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit institution located in Notre Dame, Indiana. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 28 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our great lakes region aerospace engineering students list, Notre Dame has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $31,101 for Great Lakes Region Aerospace Engineering students per year to attend Notre Dame.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at University of Notre Dame

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