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Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

5 Colleges
$36,686 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$94,353 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Optometry School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, optometry was ranked #98 in the country. In fact 1,822 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 5 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for optometry students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Optometry Colleges.

Best Great Lakes Region Schools for Affordable Quality in Optometry

#1

Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI

Our analysis found Ferris State University to be the best value school for optometry students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the town of Big Rapids, Ferris is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ferris are $13,188 a year.

Read More…

The excellent programs at Indiana University - Bloomington helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best optometry schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at IU Bloomington are $38,352 per year.

IU Bloomington also claimed a spot on our Best Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

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The excellent programs at Midwestern University - Downers Grove helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best optometry schools in the Great Lakes Region . Midwestern University - Downers Grove is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Downers Grove.

Full Optometry at Midwestern University - Downers Grove Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Columbus.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ohio State are $35,019 a year.

Read full report on Optometry at Ohio State University - Main Campus

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Illinois College of Optometry is a great value for optometry students. Located in the city of Chicago, Illinois College of Optometry is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Read full report on Optometry at Illinois College of Optometry

Best Optometry Colleges by State

Explore the best optometry colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 37
Illinois 167
Ohio 65
Indiana 84

More Optometry Rankings in the Great Lakes Region

One of 29 majors within the area of study, optometry has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Optometry

Related Major Annual Graduates
Nursing 66,964
Medicine 28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 24,774
Public Health 19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services 17,335

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 5 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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