2023 Best Value Legal Professions Schools in Michigan
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Legal Professions School for You
In 2020-2021, 1,654 degrees and certificates were awarded to legal professions students who went to a Michigan college or university. This makes it the #17 most popular major in the state.
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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Legal Professions Schools in Michigan ranking. This report analyzed 10 schools in Michigan to see which ones offered the best value programs for legal professions 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.
Top 10 Best Legal Professions Schools
Our analysis found Oakland Community College to be the best value school for legal professions students who want to pursue a degree in Michigan. Oakland Community College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Bloomfield Hills.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Oakland Community College are $5,200 per year. After completing their degree, legal professions graduates from Oakland Community College carry an average student debtload of $19,492.
Request Information
The excellent programs at Grand Valley State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best legal professions schools in Michigan. Located in the large suburb of Allendale, GVSU is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at GVSU are $13,900 per year. While working on their degree, legal professions majors at GVSU accumulate an average of around $26,531 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 $252.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, GVSU also did well on our Best Legal Professions Schools in Michigan list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read full report on Legal Professions at Grand Valley State University
Request Information
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Schools in Michigan list. WMU-Cooley Law School is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Lansing.
Request Information
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a great value for legal professions students. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at U-M are $17,193 per year.
U-M also made our Best Legal Professions Schools in Michigan list, coming in at #2.
Request Information
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Michigan University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Legal Professions Schools in Michigan list. Central Michigan is a large public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Central Michigan are $13,094 a year. Legal Professions majors at Central Michigan take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
Read full report on Legal Professions at Central Michigan University
Request Information
Davenport University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value legal professions programs. Davenport University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Grand Rapids.
Davenport University undergraduate students pay an average of $20,964 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, legal professions graduates from Davenport University carry an average student debtload of $27,594.
Read full report on Legal Professions at Davenport University
Request Information
Madonna University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Professions Schools in Michigan ranking. Located in the city of Livonia, Madonna is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Madonna are $24,900 per year. While working on their degree, legal professions majors at Madonna accumulate an average of around $31,500 in student debt.
Full Legal Professions at Madonna University Report
Request Information
Baker College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value legal professions programs. 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. After completing their degree, legal professions graduates from Baker College carry an average student debtload of $21,263.
Read full report on Legal Professions at Baker College
Request Information
Wayne State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for legal professions students. It came in at #9 on the list. Wayne State is a very large public school located in the large city of Detroit.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Wayne State are $15,199 per year.
Read full report on Legal Professions at Wayne State University
Request Information
University of Detroit Mercy did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for legal professions students. It came in at #10 on the list. Detroit Mercy is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Detroit.
Detroit Mercy undergraduate students pay an average of $30,154 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Legal Professions at University of Detroit Mercy
Request InformationBest Value Legal Professions Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Legal Professions Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 1,257 |
| Ohio | 1,634 |
| Illinois | 2,648 |
| Wisconsin | 748 |
More Legal Professions Rankings in Michigan
Legal Professions Related Majors for Legal Professions
Legal Professions Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Law | 36,216 |
| Legal Support Services | 11,545 |
| Legal Research | 6,874 |
| Non-Professional General Legal Studies | 4,407 |
| Legal Professions (Other) | 2,013 |
Majors Similar to Legal Professions
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | 142,610 |
| Public Administration & Social Service | 98,583 |
| Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies | 73,813 |
| Military Technologies & Applied Sciences | 4,477 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 10 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 The wub.
More about our data sources and methodologies.