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2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

10 Ranked Colleges
580 Degrees Awarded
$11,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Religious Studies is the 90th most popular major in the country with 9,470 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,289 and had an average of $24,431 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 580 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,601 and $29,506 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in religious studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality religious studies programs that also have a lower cost than 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 religious studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region

1
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s religion degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $2,500 for great lakes region religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Chicago.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Religious Studies at UChicago

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Wisconsin - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 34 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - Madison, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UW - Madison is $3,981 for great lakes region religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, 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 95%.

Read full report on Religious Studies at University of Wisconsin - Madison

3

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UIUC also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $4,858 for great lakes region religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, 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 more about Religious Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 4 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Ohio State, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus is $7,068 for Great Lakes Region Religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Religious Studies at Ohio State University - Main Campus

5
Notre Dame crest
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Notre Dame landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Notre Dame, Indiana, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified ’s religion students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Notre Dame, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Notre Dame is $9,872 for Great Lakes Region Religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Notre Dame Religious Studies Report

6
DePauw crest
DePauw University
Greencastle, Indiana

DePauw University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This small school is located in Greencastle, Indiana, and it awarded 5 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

DePauw did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $19,503 for great lakes region religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend DePauw University.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 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 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Religious Studies at DePauw

7

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this large public school awarded 6 degrees to qualified ’s religion students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UWM, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UWM is $11,973 for Great Lakes Region Religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Religious Studies at UWM

8

Grand Valley State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. GVSU is a large school located in Allendale, Michigan that handed out 3 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at GVSU, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Grand Valley State University is $10,259 for Great Lakes Region Religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full GVSU Religious Studies Report

9

Trinity International University - Illinois came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. TIU Illinois is a private not-for-profit institution located in Deerfield, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 6 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

TIU Illinois also took the #7 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for TIU Illinois is $17,670 for great lakes region religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Religious Studies at Trinity International University - Illinois

10
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #10, DePaul University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 2 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

DePaul also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend DePaul is $27,123 for great lakes region religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full DePaul University Religious Studies Report

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