2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Social Sciences 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 Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2019-2020, 19,742 people earned their degree in general social sciences, making the major the 51st most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, general social sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,665 and had an average of $22,423 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 610 general social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,420 and $26,661 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 319 general social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 23 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general social sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general social sciences programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general social sciences program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
The social sciences school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
Top 23 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Social Sciences in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - River Falls. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. UW - River Falls is a medium-sized public school situated in River Falls, Wisconsin. It awarded 10 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students list, UW - River Falls has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UW - River Falls is $13,748 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Stout. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Wisconsin - Stout is a public institution located in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UW - Stout also took the #6 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UW - Stout is $15,839 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 23 schools in the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Platteville landed the #3 spot on the list. Platteville, Wisconsin is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.
UW - Platteville did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $15,718 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Platteville.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Wisconsin - Whitewater is located in Whitewater, Wisconsin and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - Whitewater, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UW - Whitewater is $15,249 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grand Valley State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Grand Valley State University is a public institution located in Allendale, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 49 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
GVSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for GVSU is $17,646 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
The low student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.
Full Grand Valley State University General Social Sciences Report
Cleveland State University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Cleveland State University is a public institution located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Cleveland State University also made our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #18. It costs about $17,278 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students per year to attend Cleveland State University.
Read more about General Social Sciences at Cleveland State University
With a ranking of #7, Central Michigan University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Central Michigan is located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.
Central Michigan also took the #11 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Central Michigan University is $15,981 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students.
Indiana University - Southeast came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Indiana University - Southeast is a small public school situated in New Albany, Indiana. It awarded 1 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Indiana University - Southeast, the school also landed the #19 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Indiana University - Southeast is $10,657 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
Read more about General Social Sciences at Indiana University - Southeast
University of Akron Main Campus ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Akron Main Campus is a public institution located in Akron, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
University of Akron Main Campus did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #21 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $17,792 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students per year to attend University of Akron Main Campus.
Read full report on General Social Sciences at University of Akron Main Campus
University of Michigan - Flint did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #10. University of Michigan - Flint is a medium-sized school located in Flint, Michigan that handed out 5 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
UM Flint also made our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #15. The yearly cost to attend UM Flint is $12,734 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
Hiram College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Hiram College is a small school located in Hiram, Ohio that handed out 3 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
Hiram also took the #17 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Hiram College is $21,294 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
Read full report on General Social Sciences at Hiram College
With a ranking of #12, University of Michigan - Dearborn did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Dearborn, Michigan, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
UM Dearborn not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UM Dearborn is $11,473 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Michigan - Dearborn General Social Sciences Report
Carthage College landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Carthage is located in Kenosha, Wisconsin and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students list, Carthage has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Carthage College is $28,191 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Michigan State University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 129 students in 2019-2020.
Michigan State also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Michigan State University is $19,173 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Social Sciences at Michigan State University
Shawnee State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #15. Shawnee State University is a public institution located in Portsmouth, Ohio. The school has a small population, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Shawnee State University also took the #23 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Shawnee State University is $16,320 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
Read full report on General Social Sciences at Shawnee State University
McKendree University landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. McKendree is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lebanon, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
McKendree not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $19,844 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students per year to attend McKendree University.
Rockford University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Rockford, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.
Rockford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Rockford University is $22,197 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
With a ranking of #18, Olivet Nazarene University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 1 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s social sciences students in 2019-2020.
Olivet Nazarene did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $20,195 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students per year to attend Olivet Nazarene University.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Social Sciences at Olivet Nazarene University
With a ranking of #19, Andrews University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Andrews is located in Berrien Springs, Michigan and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.
Andrews not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #22 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Andrews is $21,934 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #20, Roosevelt University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Roosevelt, the school also landed the #20 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Roosevelt is $22,749 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #21 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. U-M is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for U-M is $15,336 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Denison University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Denison is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Granville, Ohio. It awarded 5 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Denison, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Denison is $28,614 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 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 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about General Social Sciences at Denison University
With a ranking of #23, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.
Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $24,664 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social sciences students.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about General Social Sciences at Northwestern University
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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
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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Manfred Werner (Tsui).
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