2023 Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region
9
Ranked Colleges
173
Degrees Awarded
$18,500
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Astronomy is the 479th most popular major in the country with 765 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 173 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in astronomy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great astronomy 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 astronomy program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy in the Great Lakes Region
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a large school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 4 ’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
UW - Madison did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $17,234 for Great Lakes Region Astronomical Sciences students per year to attend UW - Madison.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full UW - Madison Astronomy Report
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 27 ’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
UIUC also made our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $14,321 for Great Lakes Region Astronomical Sciences students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. 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%.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Astronomy Report
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 40 ’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Ohio State also took the #4 spot in our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Ohio State is $16,845 for great lakes region astronomical sciences 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%. 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 more about Astronomy at Ohio State
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Indiana University - Bloomington. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s astronomical sciences degrees to 13 students in 2020-2021.
IU Bloomington also made our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for Indiana University - Bloomington is $14,619 for Great Lakes Region Astronomical Sciences 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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% 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 Astronomy at IU Bloomington
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Wayne State University landed the #5 spot on the list. Wayne State is a large school located in Detroit, Michigan that handed out 5 ’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wayne State, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $13,962 for great lakes region astronomical sciences students per year to attend Wayne State University.
Read more about Astronomy at Wayne State University
Valparaiso University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Valpo is a small school located in Valparaiso, Indiana that handed out 5 ’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Valpo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $22,899 for great lakes region astronomical sciences students per year to attend Valparaiso University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Valparaiso University Astronomy Report
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ann Arbor, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s astronomical sciences degrees to 25 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region astronomical sciences students list, U-M has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for U-M is $14,878 for Great Lakes Region Astronomical Sciences 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 Astronomy at U-M
Northwestern University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 8 ’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region astronomical sciences students list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $23,279 for great lakes region astronomical sciences students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Astronomy at Northwestern University
University of Chicago ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s astronomical sciences degrees to 28 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region astronomical sciences students list, UChicago has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Chicago is $28,517 for great lakes region astronomical sciences students.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.
Read more about Astronomy at UChicago
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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
- *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.
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