2023 Best Value Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Education School for You
In 2020-2021, 199,724 education students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #3 most popular in the country.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
The Best Value Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 124 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for education students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
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2023 Best Value Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Value Education Colleges.
Top 15% Best Education Schools
Our analysis found Wisconsin Lutheran College to be the best value school for education students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . WLC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Milwaukee.
WLC undergraduate students pay an average of $32,766 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, WLC is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ashland University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Ashland is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Ashland.
Ashland undergraduate students pay an average of $23,090 in tuition and fees each year.
The excellent programs at Viterbo University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best education schools in the Great Lakes Region . Viterbo is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Crosse.
Viterbo undergraduate students pay an average of $29,920 in tuition and fees each year.
Viterbo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ferris State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the distant town of Big Rapids, Ferris is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ferris are $13,188 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Concordia University, Chicago. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Concordia University, Chicago are $34,310 a year.
With a ranking of #6, Bethel University - Mishawaka did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students. Located in the small city of Mishawaka, Bethel University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bethel University are $30,830 per year.
Spring Arbor University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Spring Arbor is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Spring Arbor.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Spring Arbor are $31,080 a year.
Olivet Nazarene University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value education programs. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bourbonnais.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Olivet Nazarene are $37,440 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Olivet Nazarene also is in the top 20% of our Best Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
Trinity Christian College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Trinity Christian is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Palos Heights.
Trinity Christian undergraduate students pay an average of $33,275 in tuition and fees each year.
Youngstown State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #10 on the list. Youngstown State University is a fairly large public school located in the city of Youngstown.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Youngstown State University are $9,732 a year.
Illinois State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a very large student population.
Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $24,172 in tuition and fees each year.
Illinois State also claimed a spot on our Best Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
University of St Francis came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Saint Francis are $35,000 per year.
University of Saint Francis excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
With a ranking of #13, Valparaiso University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students. Located in the large suburb of Valparaiso, Valpo is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Valpo are $44,796 a year.
McKendree University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Lebanon, McKendree is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at McKendree are $33,050 a year.
Alverno College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #15 on the list. Alverno is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Milwaukee.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Alverno are $31,258 per year.
With a ranking of #16, Muskingum University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students. Located in the town of New Concord, Muskingum is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Muskingum are $30,090 a year.
With a ranking of #17, Carroll University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students. Located in the city of Waukesha, Carroll U is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Carroll U are $35,140 per year.
Carroll U also claimed a spot on our Best Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NIU are $14,738 per year.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Baldwin Wallace University | Berea, OH |
| 20 | Marian University | Fond Du Lac, WI |
| 21 | Concordia University, Wisconsin | Mequon, WI |
| 22 | North Central College | Naperville, IL |
| 23 | National Louis University | Chicago, IL |
| 24 | Xavier University | Cincinnati, OH |
Best Education Colleges by State
Explore the best education colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Illinois | 6,636 |
| Indiana | 8,353 |
| Ohio | 3,830 |
| Wisconsin | 2,679 |
| Michigan | 2,978 |
More Education Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Majors Related to Education
Education Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Educational Administration | 45,458 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 34,451 |
| Special Education | 25,158 |
| General Education | 21,189 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 20,616 |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 19,784 |
| Student Counseling | 13,840 |
| Instructional Media Design | 8,387 |
| Teaching English or French | 4,743 |
| Other Education | 2,513 |
| Multilingual Education | 1,672 |
| Educational Assessment | 1,215 |
| Education Philosophy | 421 |
| International Education | 257 |
| Teaching Assistants | 20 |
Majors Similar to Education
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Psychology | 42,013 |
| Social Sciences | 22,292 |
| Communication & Journalism | 12,242 |
| Library Science | 5,929 |
| History | 4,391 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- 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 the rest 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Horadrim.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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