2023 Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Finding the Best General Education School for You
General Education is the #39 most popular major in the country with 29,810 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 69 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best General Education Colleges.
Top 10 Best General Education Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in the Great Lakes Region for general education students. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
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Out of the 69 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Marquette University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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The excellent programs at Saint Norbert College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in the Great Lakes Region . SNC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of De Pere.
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Out of the 69 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 4 spot on the list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
On average, education graduates from UIUC take out $20,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Illinois Wesleyan University is a great place for general education students. Located in the small city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #6 on this year’s Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.
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With a ranking of #7, Calvin University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general education students. Located in the medium-sized city of Grand Rapids, Calvin is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general education students. It came in at #8 on the list. Purdue is a very large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.
On average, education graduates from Purdue take out $21,757 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #9, Michigan State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general education students. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a very large student population.
While working on their degree, education majors at Michigan State accumulate an average of around $26,000 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $255, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Valparaiso University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general education students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the suburb of Valparaiso, Valpo is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Carthage College | Kenosha, WI |
| 12 | Alma College | Alma, MI |
| 13 | Ball State University | Muncie, IN |
Best General Education Colleges by State
Explore the best general education schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 700 |
| Ohio | 706 |
| Illinois | 453 |
| Indiana | 502 |
| Wisconsin | 515 |
More General Education Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
General Education Related Rankings by Major
One of 14 majors within the area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar to Education
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 110,226 |
| Educational Administration | 46,469 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 43,297 |
| Special Education | 36,792 |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 19,832 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 KOKUYO.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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