2023 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in the Great Lakes Region
10
Ranked Colleges
808
Degrees Awarded
$21,500
Avg Net Price*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Area Studies is the 115th most popular major in the country with 6,966 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,127 and had an average of $20,927 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 808 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,342 and $21,486 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in area studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great area studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the area studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region.
Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a large school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 157 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UW - Madison also took the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $17,234 for great lakes region area studies students per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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 freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of Wisconsin - Madison Area Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 32 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $14,321 for Great Lakes Region Area Studies students per year to attend UIUC.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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 more about Area Studies at UIUC
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 17 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,214 for Great Lakes Region Area Studies students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at University of Illinois at Chicago
Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Miami University - Oxford landed the #4 spot on the list. Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public school situated in Oxford, Ohio. It awarded 56 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Miami University - Oxford, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Miami University - Oxford is $24,756 for Great Lakes Region Area Studies students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.
Read more about Area Studies at Miami University - Oxford
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Siena Heights University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Siena Heights University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Adrian, Michigan. The school has a small population, and it awarded 14 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region area studies students list, Siena Heights University has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $21,434 for Great Lakes Region Area Studies students per year to attend Siena Heights University.
Read full report on Area Studies at Siena Heights University
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 44 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
IU Bloomington did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for IU Bloomington is $14,619 for Great Lakes Region Area Studies students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Indiana University - Bloomington Area Studies Report
DePaul University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. DePaul University is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 11 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $31,174 for great lakes region area studies students per year to attend DePaul University.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full DePaul University Area Studies Report
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 68 ’s area studies 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 Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is $14,878 for great lakes region area studies students.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Area Studies at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Oberlin College did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Oberlin, Ohio, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 41 diplomas to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
Oberlin not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $34,777 for great lakes region area studies students per year to attend Oberlin.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Oberlin Area Studies Report
University of Chicago landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 45 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $28,517 for great lakes region area studies students per year to attend UChicago.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at UChicago
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