2023 Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 556,813 degrees and certificates were awarded to liberal arts general studies students, making the major the most popular in the country.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 71 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for liberal arts 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 15% Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Western Illinois University the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for liberal arts general studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WIU are $13,297 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts graduates from WIU carry an average student debtload of $30,879. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $216, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value liberal arts general studies schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the rural area of Marion, IWU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at IWU are $9,239 a year. Liberal Arts majors at IWU take out an average of $29,340 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Baker College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Baker College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Owosso.
Baker College undergraduate students pay an average of $12,420 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts graduates from Baker College carry an average student debtload of $40,126.
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Out of the 71 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh landed the # 4 spot on the list. UW Oshkosh is a large public school located in the city of Oshkosh.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW Oshkosh are $15,306 per year. Liberal Arts majors at UW Oshkosh take out an average of $33,045 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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Out of the 71 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay landed the # 5 spot on the list. UW - Green Bay is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Green Bay.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Green Bay are $16,091 per year. Liberal Arts majors at UW - Green Bay take out an average of $28,608 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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Youngstown State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Youngstown State University undergraduate students pay an average of $9,732 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts majors at Youngstown State University accumulate an average of around $34,649 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $163.
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Eastern Illinois University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the distant town of Charleston, EIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
EIU undergraduate students pay an average of $14,551 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that liberal arts majors at EIU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $26,418.
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Ferris State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts general studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Ferris is a large public school located in the distant town of Big Rapids.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ferris are $13,188 a year. On average, liberal arts graduates from Ferris take out $33,630 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts general studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.
NIU undergraduate students pay an average of $14,738 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts majors at NIU accumulate an average of around $30,661 in student debt.
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Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. SIUC is a large public school located in the small city of Carbondale.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUC are $15,240 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts majors at SIUC accumulate an average of around $26,953 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #10, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts general studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UW - Eau Claire undergraduate students pay an average of $17,149 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts majors at UW - Eau Claire accumulate an average of around $25,036 in student debt.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW - Eau Claire is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Miami University - Hamilton | Hamilton, OH |
| 13 | Purdue University Northwest | Hammond, IN |
| 14 | University of Akron Main Campus | Akron, OH |
Best Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges by State
Explore the best liberal arts general studies schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 9,711 |
| Ohio | 11,432 |
| Illinois | 18,292 |
| Indiana | 3,815 |
| Wisconsin | 2,376 |
More Liberal Arts General Studies Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Liberal Arts General Studies Related Majors for Liberal Arts
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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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