2023 Best Value Colleges for Operations Research (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Operations Research Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2020-2021, 1,698 people earned their degree in operations research, making the major the 203rd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, operations research graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $84,787 and had an average of $14,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 159 operations research graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Operations Research Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in operations research. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great operations research programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the operations research program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 “Best Value Operations Research Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k” 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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Operations Research Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region operations research students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Operations Research (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region

1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$8,036 Average Net Price

$53,270 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Operations Research Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 46 ’s operations research degrees in 2020-2021.

UIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Operations Research Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $8,036 for great lakes region operations research students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.

Read full report on Operations Research at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2

Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio

#1 in overall quality

$15,570 Average Net Price

$62,001 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Operations Research Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Case Western Reserve University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 23 diplomas to qualified ’s operations research students in 2020-2021.

Case Western also made our “Best Operations Research Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $15,570 for great lakes region operations research students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Case Western Reserve University.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Full Case Western Reserve University Operations Research Report

• Best Value Colleges for Operations Research (Income $30-$48k)

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).
• 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

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• 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.