2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You
With 322,592 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, nursing is the #3 most popular major in the United States.
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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 139 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a associate degree.
Top 15% Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Ohio Medical Career College the best school in the Great Lakes Region for nursing students working on their associate degree. Ohio Medical Career College is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Dayton.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Ambria College of Nursing helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Great Lakes Region . Ambria College of Nursing is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of Hoffman Estates.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Ambria College of Nursing accumulate an average of around $32,601 in student debt.
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Out of the 139 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Rasmussen University - Illinois landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Rockford, Rasmussen University - Illinois is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
Nursing majors at Rasmussen University - Illinois take out an average of $32,326 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $175, based 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 Madison Area Technical College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Madison, Madison College is a public school with a large student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Madison College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $26,980.
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Out of the 139 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Herzing University - Akron landed the # 5 spot on the list. Herzing Akron is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Akron.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Herzing Akron take out while working on their Associate Degree is $35,162. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $107, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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With a ranking of #6, Ivy Tech Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Ivy Tech Community College is a very large public school located in the large city of Indianapolis.
After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Ivy Tech Community College carry an average student debtload of $20,860.
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James A Rhodes State College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Lima, Rhodes State College is a public school with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Rhodes State College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $23,078.
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Rasmussen University - Wisconsin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Green Bay, Rasmussen University - Wisconsin is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Nursing majors at Rasmussen University - Wisconsin take out an average of $32,326 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $175, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Galen College of Nursing - Cincinnati ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Galen College of Nursing - Cincinnati is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Cincinnati.
On average, nursing graduates from Galen College of Nursing - Cincinnati take out $35,636 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $111, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Chippewa Valley Technical College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at CVTC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $24,781.
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With a ranking of #11, Schoolcraft College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Livonia, Schoolcraft College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Schoolcraft College accumulate an average of around $24,773 in student debt.
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Mercy College of Ohio ranked #12 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Toledo, Mercy College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Mercy College accumulate an average of around $35,681 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $149.
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Oakton Community College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. Located in the small city of Des Plaines, Oakton Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Oakton Community College take out $11,885 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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William Rainey Harper College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Harper College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Palatine.
After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Harper College carry an average student debtload of $19,644.
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Southwest Wisconsin Technical College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Southwest Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Fennimore.
Nursing majors at Southwest Tech take out an average of $20,050 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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With a ranking of #16, Ohio University - Southern Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Ironton, OHIO Southern is a public school with a small student population.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at OHIO Southern accumulate an average of around $26,334 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #17, Ohio University - Zanesville Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. OHIO Zanesville is a small public school located in the distant town of Zanesville.
Nursing majors at OHIO Zanesville take out an average of $26,334 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Felbry College School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #18 on the list. Felbry College School of Nursing is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Columbus.
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Delta College ranked #19 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the rural area of University Center, Delta College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Nursing majors at Delta College take out an average of $21,140 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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With a ranking of #20, Lansing Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Lansing, LCC is a public school with a large student population.
Nursing majors at LCC take out an average of $28,140 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Gateway Technical College | Kenosha, WI |
| 22 | Parkland College | Champaign, IL |
| 23 | Hondros College of Nursing | Westerville, OH |
| 24 | Western Technical College | La Crosse, WI |
| 25 | Northeast Wisconsin Technical College | Green Bay, WI |
| 26 | University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne | Fort Wayne, IN |
| 27 | Fox Valley Technical College | Appleton, WI |
Best Nursing Colleges by State
Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 7,345 |
| Ohio | 13,973 |
| Illinois | 21,938 |
| Indiana | 7,922 |
| Wisconsin | 5,410 |
More Nursing Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Rankings in Majors Related to Nursing
One of 30 majors within the area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Medical Administrative Services | 89,359 |
| Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services | 84,492 |
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
| Allied Health Professions | 82,308 |
| Public Health | 40,596 |
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 Aleksahgabrielle.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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