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2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k

7 Ranked Colleges
144 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,430 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $21,866 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 144 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $50,368 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to 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 Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Washington University in St Louis. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Louis, Missouri. It awarded 28 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

WUSTL did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend WUSTL is $8,149 for plains states region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, 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.

Full Washington University in St Louis Public Policy Report

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. UMN Twin Cities is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 71 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMN Twin Cities, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $12,911 for plains states region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UMN Twin Cities.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%.

Read full report on Public Policy at UMN Twin Cities

3
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Kansas. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. KU is a large school located in Lawrence, Kansas that handed out 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

KU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for KU is $18,586 for plains states region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, 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 86%.

Read full report on Public Policy at KU

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Missouri Southern State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Joplin, Missouri is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our plains states region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, Missouri Southern has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Missouri Southern State University is $10,215 for plains states region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Public Policy at Missouri Southern State University

5
St. Kate's crest
St Catherine University
Saint Paul, Minnesota

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Catherine University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. St. Kate’s is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at St. Kate’s, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for St. Kate’s is $15,942 for Plains States Region Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at St. Kate’s

6

University of Northern Iowa ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. UNI is a medium-sized public school situated in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

UNI also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $15,287 for Plains States Region Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UNI.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% 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%.

Read full report on Public Policy at UNI

7
SLU crest
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, Missouri

Saint Louis University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #7. Saint Louis, Missouri is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.

SLU also took the #6 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $19,225 for Plains States Region Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend SLU.

With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%. The undergraduate 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.

Read more about Public Policy at SLU

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Notes and References

References

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