2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Public Policy is the 116th most popular major in the country with 6,199 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 989 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,283 and $31,567 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 361 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 8 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region.
Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 25 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $13,312 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students.
The low 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 Public Policy at University of Illinois at Chicago
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Ohio State University - Main Campus is located in Columbus, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 29 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Ohio State also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State University - Main Campus is $17,616 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, 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 students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Olivet Nazarene University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Bourbonnais, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.
Olivet Nazarene also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Olivet Nazarene University is $20,195 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students.
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 Public Policy at Olivet Nazarene University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Michigan State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 27 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students list, Michigan State has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Michigan State is $19,173 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Michigan State University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.
DePaul also took the #8 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $30,090 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students per year to attend DePaul.
The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 77 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students list, U-M has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is $15,336 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Public Policy Report
University of Chicago came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 129 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $27,315 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students per year to attend University of Chicago.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. The low 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%.
Northwestern University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 66 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $24,664 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree public policy students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 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. 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.
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Best Public Policy Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in the Great Lakes Region
Public Policy students with family income $48-$75k in the Great Lakes Region
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region
Public Policy students with family income exceeding $110k in the Great Lakes Region
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Public Policy students in the Great Lakes Region
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Public Policy students getting aid in the Great Lakes Region
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
Public Policy students with family income $30-$48k in the Great Lakes Region
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $75-$110k) in the Great Lakes Region
Public Policy students with family income $75-$110k in the Great Lakes Region
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region
Public Policy students in the Great Lakes Region
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.
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