2023 Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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. Also, there are a number of trade schools and bootcamp with offerings that you might find attractive.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 295 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Schools in the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named University of Notre Dame the best school in the Great Lakes Region for students working on their degree. Notre Dame is located in Notre Dame, Indiana and has a fairly large student population. In , this school awarded 4,643 degrees to qualified students.
On average, students take out $59,633 in loans while pursuing their degree. Once they receive their degree, Notre Dame graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $69,494 during the early year of their career.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10,406 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $79,112 in student loans. During the early years of their career, Northwestern graduates make an average of $78,551 annually.
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The excellent programs at University of Chicago helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in the Great Lakes Region . Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out degrees to 7,680 students in .
On average, students take out $87,747 in loans while pursuing their degree.After graduating from UChicago, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $81,002 during the early years of their career.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Kettering University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Flint, Michigan, and it awarded 525 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $43,238 in student loans. Once they receive their degree, Kettering graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $87,338 during the early year of their career.
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Out of the 295 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, DePauw University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in Greencastle, Indiana, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 414 degrees in .
During the early years of their career, DePauw graduates make an average of $46,127 annually.
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With a ranking of #6, Denison University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Granville, Ohio, and it awarded 622 degrees in .
Degree recipients from Denison accumulate an average of $41,768 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. During the early years of their career, Denison graduates make an average of $39,797 annually.
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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #7 on this year’s Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the large public school handed out 17,171 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $57,297 in student loans.After graduating from U-M, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $66,254 during the early years of their career.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best programs. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a large public school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 19,153 degrees in .
On average, students take out $39,097 in loans while pursuing their degree.After graduating from UW - Madison, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $59,877 during the early years of their career.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 17,509 students in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $45,862 in student loans.After graduating from UIUC, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $57,461 during the early years of their career.
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With a ranking of #10, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working. West Lafayette, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 14,360 students in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $41,972 in student loans. Once they receive their degree, Purdue graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $63,111 during the early year of their career.
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Butler University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Butler is a private not-for-profit institution located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,636 degrees in .
Once they receive their degree, Butler graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $68,222 during the early year of their career.
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Illinois Wesleyan University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Bloomington, Illinois, and it awarded 376 degrees in .
On average, students take out $50,509 in loans while pursuing their degree. During the early years of their career, Illinois Wesleyan graduates make an average of $50,808 annually.
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Michigan Technological University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This medium-sized public school is located in Houghton, Michigan, and it awarded 1,756 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $38,111 in student loans. Once they receive their degree, Michigan Tech graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $64,652 during the early year of their career.
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Madison Area Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students. It came in at #14 on the list. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 3,154 students in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $17,396 in student loans. Once they receive their degree, Madison College graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $44,279 during the early year of their career.
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University of Wisconsin - La Crosse landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best programs. La Crosse, Wisconsin is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 2,552 students in .
Degree recipients from UW - La Crosse accumulate an average of $21,102 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Once they receive their degree, UW - La Crosse graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $49,223 during the early year of their career.
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With a ranking of #16, Marquette University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working. Marquette University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that handed out 3,745 degrees in .
On average, students take out $56,612 in loans while pursuing their degree. Once they receive their degree, Marquette graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $60,443 during the early year of their career.
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University of Wisconsin - River Falls ranked #17 on this year’s Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Wisconsin - River Falls is a medium-sized public school located in River Falls, Wisconsin that handed out 1,340 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $17,425 in student loans. Once they receive their degree, UW - River Falls graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $47,577 during the early year of their career.
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With a ranking of #18, Kenyon College did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working. Located in Gambier, Ohio, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 595 diplomas to qualifed students in .
During the early years of their career, Kenyon graduates make an average of $37,976 annually.
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Michigan State University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best programs. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 13,239 students in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $50,929 in student loans. During the early years of their career, Michigan State graduates make an average of $54,166 annually.
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With a ranking of #20, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working. IU Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and has a large student population. In , this school awarded 12,252 degrees to qualified students.
Degree recipients from IU Bloomington accumulate an average of $45,942 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.After graduating from IU Bloomington, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $52,123 during the early years of their career.
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Saint Mary’s College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students. It came in at #21 on the list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, and it awarded 420 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $61,415 in student loans.After graduating from St. Mary’s College, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $48,274 during the early years of their career.
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University of Wisconsin - Stout ranked #22 on this year’s Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Stout is located in Menomonie, Wisconsin and has a medium-sized student population. In , this school awarded 1,781 degrees to qualified students.
On average, students take out $18,879 in loans while pursuing their degree. During the early years of their career, UW - Stout graduates make an average of $54,235 annually.
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With a ranking of #23, Rasmussen University - Illinois did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working. Rasmussen University - Illinois is located in Rockford, Illinois and has a small student population. In , this school awarded 1,241 degrees to qualified students.
On average, students take out $13,698 in loans while pursuing their degree.After graduating from Rasmussen University - Illinois, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $45,427 during the early years of their career.
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Milwaukee School of Engineering landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best programs. Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 668 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $38,658 in student loans.After graduating from MSOE, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $72,677 during the early years of their career.
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Fox Valley Technical College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Appleton, Wisconsin is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 3,541 students in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $19,248 in student loans.After graduating from FVTC, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $44,020 during the early years of their career.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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