2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Engineering School for You
With 198,468 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, engineering is the #7 most popular major in the United States.
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 53 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for engineering students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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.
Top 10 Best Engineering Schools
Our analysis found University of Wisconsin - Stout to be the best value school for engineering students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the town of Menomonie, UW - Stout is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Stout are $17,820 per year. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at UW - Stout take out is $27,977.
UW - Stout also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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Out of the 53 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Akron Main Campus landed the # 2 spot on the list. University of Akron Main Campus is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Akron.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 per year. Engineering majors at University of Akron Main Campus take out an average of $22,710 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 $228.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SIUE are $11,496 a year. While working on their degree, engineering majors at SIUE accumulate an average of around $23,094 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $270, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Youngstown State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Youngstown State University is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Youngstown.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Youngstown State University are $9,732 per year. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at Youngstown State University take out is $25,104.
Full Engineering at Youngstown State University Report
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Wisconsin - Platteville. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Platteville is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Platteville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Platteville are $16,483 per year. Engineering majors at UW - Platteville take out an average of $24,801 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 $180.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - Platteville also did well on our Best Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Central Michigan University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public college with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Central Michigan are $13,094 per year. After completing their degree, engineering graduates from Central Michigan carry an average student debtload of $29,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $274, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Lake Superior State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Lake Superior State University is a small public school located in the remote town of Sault Ste Marie.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Lake Superior State University are $13,200 a year.
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Northern Illinois University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a large student population.
NIU undergraduate students pay an average of $14,738 in tuition and fees each year. Engineering majors at NIU take out an average of $26,089 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $192, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Grand Valley State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for engineering students. It came in at #9 on the list. GVSU is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Allendale.
GVSU undergraduate students pay an average of $19,628 in tuition and fees each year. On average, engineering graduates from GVSU take out $25,717 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Engineering at Grand Valley State University Report
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Baker College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for engineering students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the distant town of Owosso, Baker College 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 Baker College are $12,420 a year. Engineering majors at Baker College take out an average of $25,970 in student loans while working on their egree.
Full Engineering at Baker College Report
Request InformationBest Engineering Colleges by State
Explore the best engineering colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 5,383 |
| Michigan | 8,586 |
| Ohio | 8,648 |
| Illinois | 6,581 |
| Wisconsin | 3,396 |
More Engineering Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Majors Related to Engineering
Engineering Majors to Study
Majors Similar to Engineering
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Computer & Information Sciences | 254,454 |
| Biological & Biomedical Sciences | 177,778 |
| Engineering Technologies | 85,188 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 52,396 |
| Physical Sciences | 50,306 |
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 Petty Officer 3rd Class Declan Barnes.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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