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Best Value General Education Schools in Michigan

2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Michigan

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

12 Colleges
$23,661 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$45,575 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education School for You

General Education is the #40 most popular major in Michigan with 700 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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.

The Best Value General Education Schools in Michigan ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 12 schools in Michigan 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

Top 10 Best General Education Schools

#1

Calvin University

Grand Rapids, MI
$38,240 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Calvin University the best value school in Michigan for general education students. Calvin is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Grand Rapids.

Calvin undergraduate students pay an average of $38,240 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Calvin excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best General Education Schools in Michigan list.

Full General Education at Calvin University Report

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#2

Spring Arbor University

Spring Arbor, MI
$31,080 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Spring Arbor University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in Michigan. Located in the suburb of Spring Arbor, Spring Arbor is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Spring Arbor are $31,080 per year.

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#3

Saginaw Valley State University

University Center, MI
$11,130 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saginaw Valley State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Michigan list. Located in the midsize suburb of University Center, Saginaw Valley State University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Saginaw Valley State University are $11,130 per year.

Read full report on General Education at Saginaw Valley State University

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$13,900 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Grand Valley State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in Michigan. Located in the large suburb of Allendale, GVSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

GVSU undergraduate students pay an average of $13,900 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, education majors at GVSU accumulate an average of around $29,500 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $298, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, GVSU also did well on our Best General Education Schools in Michigan list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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#5

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI
$15,966 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Michigan State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in Michigan. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Michigan State are $15,966 a year. Education majors at Michigan State take out an average of $26,000 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $255.

Michigan State also made our Best General Education Schools in Michigan list, coming in at #4.

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#6

Baker College

Owosso, MI
$12,420 Average Tuition & Fees

Baker College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general education students. It came in at #6 on the list. Baker College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Owosso.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Baker College are $12,420 per year.

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$12,322 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Michigan - Flint did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general education students. It came in at #7 on the list. UM Flint is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Flint.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UM Flint are $12,322 per year.

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$15,500 Average Tuition & Fees

Eastern Michigan University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general education programs. Eastern Michigan is a large public school located in the large suburb of Ypsilanti.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Eastern Michigan are $15,500 per year.

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$13,816 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, University of Michigan - Dearborn did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students. Located in the midsize city of Dearborn, UM Dearborn is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

UM Dearborn undergraduate students pay an average of $13,816 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full General Education at University of Michigan - Dearborn Report

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$17,193 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in Michigan ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at U-M are $17,193 per year.

U-M not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best General Education Schools in Michigan list.

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Best Value General Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value General Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Ohio 706
Illinois 453
Indiana 502
Wisconsin 515

General Education is one of 14 different types of programs to choose from.

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 12 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 KOKUYO.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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