2026 Best Value Paper Science & Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region
[Paper Science & Engineering](/majors/engineering/paper-science-engineering/paper-science-and-engineering/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools to find the best return on investment for paper science & engineering students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Paper Science & Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in paper science & engineering, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Paper Science & Engineering Schools
For return on investment in paper science & engineering, no school beat Western Michigan University this year. Set in the city of Kalamazoo, Western Michigan University is a large public institution. In-state tuition and fees average $15,987, compared with $19,952 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for paper science & engineering graduates is $27,379. Paper Science & Engineering graduates of Western Michigan University earn a median of $86,401 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $27,379 median debt. Roughly 85% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
