Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

5 Colleges
$36,686 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$94,353 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Optometry School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, optometry was ranked #196 in the country. In fact 1,822 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 5 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for optometry 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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Optometry Colleges.

Best Great Lakes Region Schools for Affordable Quality in Optometry

#1

Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI
$13,188 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Ferris State University the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for optometry students. Ferris is a fairly large public school located in the town of Big Rapids.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ferris are $13,188 a year.

Read More…

The excellent programs at Indiana University - Bloomington helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best optometry schools in the Great Lakes Region . IU Bloomington is a very large public school located in the small city of Bloomington.

IU Bloomington undergraduate students pay an average of $38,352 in tuition and fees each year.

IU Bloomington excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read More…

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Midwestern University - Downers Grove is a great value for optometry students. Located in the large suburb of Downers Grove, Midwestern University - Downers Grove is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Optometry at Midwestern University - Downers Grove

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Ohio State undergraduate students pay an average of $35,019 in tuition and fees each year.

Ohio State also claimed a spot on our Best Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Full Optometry at Ohio State University - Main Campus Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Illinois College of Optometry. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Optometry Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Illinois College of Optometry is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Read full report on Optometry at Illinois College of Optometry

Best Optometry Colleges by State

Explore the best optometry schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 37
Ohio 65
Illinois 167
Indiana 84

More Optometry Rankings in the Great Lakes Region

One of 30 majors within the area of study, optometry has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Optometry

Related Major Annual Graduates
Nursing 322,592
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 5 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.