2023 Best Value Colleges for Science Technologies / Technicians (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Science Tech Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2020-2021, 6,451 people earned their degree in science technologies / technicians, making the major the 37th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, science technologies / technicians graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,830 and had an average of $16,121 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 296 science technologies / technicians graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,132 and $19,125 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Science Tech Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 2 colleges that offered a degree in science technologies / technicians. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great science technologies / technicians 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 science technologies / technicians program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Science Tech Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique 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 Science Tech Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Science Technologies / Technicians (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region

1

Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$245 Average Net Price

$69,538 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Science Tech Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 13 ’s science tech degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our great lakes region science tech students whose families make $0-$30k list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Science Technologies / Technicians Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $245 for great lakes region science tech students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%.

Read more about Science Technologies / Technicians at Northwestern

2

Oakland Community College
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

#2 in overall quality

$1,464 Average Net Price

$38,470 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Oakland Community College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Science Tech Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Oakland Community College is located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 98 ’s science tech degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our great lakes region science tech students whose families make $0-$30k list, Oakland Community College has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Science Technologies / Technicians Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Oakland Community College is $1,464 for Great Lakes Region Science Tech students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Science Technologies / Technicians at Oakland Community College

• Best Value Colleges for Science Technologies / Technicians (Income $0-$30k)

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.