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2021 Best Colleges in the Great Lakes Region for Students from Iran

37 Colleges
$38,552 Avg Tuition & Fees*
52% Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*

International students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking is part of that endeavor.

After analyzing 37 schools in the Great Lakes Region , we came up with our list of those that offered the best educational experiences for Iranian students in the Great Lakes Region. Our ranking is based on several objective factors, including the school's overall quality and the total number of international students at the school. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another.

Learn more about our ranking methodology.

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Top Colleges in the Great Lakes Region for Students from Iran

See which schools came out on top of our ranking:

1

Our 2021 rankings named University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign the best school for Iranian students in the Great Lakes Region working on their bachelor’s degree. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 9,305 students in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 19.2% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UIUC to study.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #2 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian students in the Great Lakes Region list. Ann Arbor, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 9,144 students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 13.9% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to U-M to study.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read More…

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #3 in this year’s ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 620 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 33.9% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Spain come to Illinois Tech to study.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Illinois Institute of Technology Report

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Michigan State University. The school came in at #4 in this year’s ranking. Michigan State is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 9,450 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 9.1% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Michigan State come from such countries as China, South Korea, and India.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read full report on Michigan State University

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #5 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian students in the Great Lakes Region list. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 2,722 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 16.3% are international. Students studying at Northwestern come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.

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…

6

University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 9,926 students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 13.2% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UW - Madison are China, India, and South Korea.

With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

7

Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Bloomington, Indiana, the large public school handed out 7,959 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 10.2% are international. Students studying at IU Bloomington come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read More…

8

Case Western Reserve University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. Case Western Reserve University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Cleveland, Ohio that handed out 1,541 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 18.1% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Case Western come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read More…

9

With a ranking of #9, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region. This large public school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 5,247 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 10.4% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as India, China, and Iran come to UIC to study.

Read full report on University of Illinois at Chicago

10

University of Notre Dame landed the #10 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, and it awarded 2,848 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 10.6% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Notre Dame are China, India, and South Korea.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full University of Notre Dame Report

11

Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio State is a large public school situated in Columbus, Ohio. It awarded 12,018 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 9.1% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Ohio State come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full Ohio State University - Main Campus Report

12

Michigan Technological University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Michigan Tech is a public institution located in Houghton, Michigan. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,202 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 9.0% are international. Students studying at Michigan Tech come from such countries as India, China, and Iran.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Michigan Technological University Report

13

University of Chicago came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 2,163 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 26.6% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UChicago to study.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read More…

14

With a ranking of #14, University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is a large public school located in Cincinnati, Ohio that handed out 6,500 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 7.3% are international. Students studying at UC come from such countries as India, China, and South Korea.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.

Full University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Report

15

Marquette University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #15. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it awarded 2,386 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 3.2% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Marquette come from such countries as China, India, and Bangladesh.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.

Read More…

16

Ohio University - Athens Campus ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Athens, Ohio, the large public school awarded 6,797 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

Around 3.7% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Saudi Arabia come to OHIO Athens to study.

Full Ohio University - Athens Campus Report

17

Wayne State University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #17. Wayne State University is a large public school located in Detroit, Michigan that handed out 4,208 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 4.3% are international. Students from as far away as India, Canada, and China come to Wayne State to study.

Full Wayne State University Report

18

DePaul University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region list. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3,335 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Around 5.1% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Saudi Arabia come to DePaul to study.

Read More…

19

University of Dayton did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #19. Dayton, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 2,123 students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 8.5% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UDayton are China, Saudi Arabia, and India.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Full University of Dayton Report

20

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 588 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 30.8% are international. Students from as far away as China, South Korea, and India come to School of the Art Institute of Chicago to study.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read More…

21

University of Toledo landed the #21 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region. University of Toledo is located in Toledo, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3,236 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Around 6.9% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at University of Toledo come from such countries as Saudi Arabia, India, and China.

Read More…

22

Western Michigan University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking. WMU is a fairly large public school situated in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It awarded 3,747 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 7.0% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at WMU are Saudi Arabia, India, and China.

Full Western Michigan University Report

23

Illinois State University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region list. Illinois State is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 4,745 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 2.6% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as India, Panama, and China come to Illinois State to study.

Full Illinois State University Report

24

Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #24 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region. SIUC is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2,476 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 8.1% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at SIUC come from such countries as India, Saudi Arabia, and China.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

25

Kent State University at Kent ranked #25 on this year’s Best Colleges for Iranian Students in the Great Lakes Region list. This large public school is located in Kent, Ohio, and it awarded 5,120 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 4.8% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Kent State are India, China, and Saudi Arabia.

Read full report on Kent State University at Kent

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Notes and References

Footnotes

*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 25 schools only.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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