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Most Popular Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Most Popular Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region

132 Colleges
$46,236 Avg Salary
$26,191 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best General Business/Commerce School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, general business/commerce was ranked #16 in the country. In fact 56,042 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 132 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the General Business/Commerce program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for general business majors pursuing a .

Our analysis found Indiana University - Bloomington to be the most popular school for general business/commerce students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public school with a fairly large student population.

On average, general business graduates from IU Bloomington take out $19,594 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $581.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at Indiana University - Bloomington

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis is a great place for general business/commerce students. IUPUI is a very large public school located in the city of Indianapolis.

General Business majors at IUPUI take out an average of $23,845 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $155, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means DeVry University - Illinois is a great place for general business/commerce students. Located in the city of Chicago, DeVry University - Illinois is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, general business graduates from DeVry University - Illinois carry an average student debt load of $43,832.

Full General Business/Commerce at DeVry University - Illinois Report

#4

Purdue University Global

Indianapolis, IN

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Purdue University Global is a great place for general business/commerce students. Located in the city of Indianapolis, Purdue University Global is a public school with a fairly large student population.

General Business majors at Purdue University Global take out an average of $26,726 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full General Business/Commerce at Purdue University Global Report

#5

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ball State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Ball State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Muncie.

The average amount in student loans that general business majors at Ball State take out is $25,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $259, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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University of Wisconsin - Whitewater came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the distant town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public school with a large student population.

On average, general business graduates from UW - Whitewater take out $26,615 in student loans while working on their degree.

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Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. IWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Marion.

The average amount in student loans that general business majors at IWU take out is $25,402.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global

Purdue University Fort Wayne landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular general business/commerce programs. PFW is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Fort Wayne.

On average, general business graduates from PFW take out $23,682 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at Purdue University Fort Wayne

University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular general business/commerce programs. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Madison.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at University of Wisconsin - Madison

With a ranking of #10, Indiana University - Southeast did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general business/commerce students. Located in the large suburb of New Albany, Indiana University - Southeast is a public school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that general business majors at Indiana University - Southeast take out is $22,062.

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Macomb Community College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular general business/commerce programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Warren, Macomb Community College is a public school with a large student population.

General Business majors at Macomb Community College take out an average of $9,808 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full General Business/Commerce at Macomb Community College Report

Indiana University - South Bend did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for general business/commerce students. It came in at #12 on the list. Indiana University - South Bend is a small public school located in the midsize city of South Bend.

The average amount in student loans that general business majors at Indiana University - South Bend take out is $21,000.

Full General Business/Commerce at Indiana University - South Bend Report

Grand Valley State University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. GVSU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Allendale.

The average amount in student loans that general business majors at GVSU take out is $21,207.

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#14

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

University of Notre Dame ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.

On average, general business graduates from Notre Dame take out $17,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full General Business/Commerce at University of Notre Dame Report

#14

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public college with a very large student population.

Full General Business/Commerce at Michigan State University Report

Indiana University - Kokomo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for general business/commerce students. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the city of Kokomo, IU Kokomo is a public college with a small student population.

While working on their degree, general business majors at IU Kokomo accumulate an average of around $26,192 in student debt.

Full General Business/Commerce at Indiana University - Kokomo Report

#17

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for general business/commerce students. It came in at #17 on the list. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at Northwestern University

#18

Davenport University

Grand Rapids, MI

Davenport University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular general business/commerce programs. Located in the large suburb of Grand Rapids, Davenport University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

On average, general business graduates from Davenport University take out $30,312 in student loans while working on their degree.

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#19

Roosevelt University

Chicago, IL

With a ranking of #19, Roosevelt University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for general business/commerce students. Roosevelt is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

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Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Business & Commerce students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Most Popular Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
20 Indiana Institute of Technology Fort Wayne, IN
21 Indiana University - Northwest Gary, IN
22 Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids, MI
23 Wright State University - Main Campus Dayton, OH
24 Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL
24 Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL
26 Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI

Best General Business/Commerce Colleges by State

Explore the best general business/commerce schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,060
Ohio 581
Illinois 877
Indiana 5,774
Wisconsin 529

General Business/Commerce is one of 21 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to General Business

Related Major Annual Graduates
Business Administration & Management 416,590
Accounting 99,265
Finance & Financial Management 57,778
Marketing 52,916
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 43,382

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 U.S. Consulate General Munich.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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