These Michigan Schools Ranked ‘Best Colleges For Your Money’

Buying a house and sending kids to college are two of the biggest spending decisions most Americans will ever make. Fortunately for Michigan families, two Michigan universities are among the best college values in America, according to a new “Best Colleges for Your Money” ranking from Money magazine.

The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is the third-best value in the country, and Michigan State University in East Lansing was 30th, according to the analysis of more than 700 of the nation’s best-performing colleges. Michigan Technological Institute at Houghton, which came in at No. 91, also cracked the top 100.

Money said the ranking is “new, uniquely practical analysis” that draws on research and advice from some of the nation’s leading experts on education quality, financing and value. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Detroit Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, like us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

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Here’s why U-M rose to the top three in the Money 2017 Best Colleges For Your Money ranking for 2017-2018:

• Estimated net cost without financial aid: $29,000
• Estimated net cost with average state grant: $17,000
• Percent receiving need-based assistance: 32
• Percent receiving merit-based assistance: 24
• Average early-career earnings for graduates: $61,500

Here’s the analysis for Michigan State University:

• Estimated net cost without financial aid: $27,500
• Estimated net cost with average state grant: $15,800
• Percent receiving need-based assistance: 35
• Percent receiving merit-based assistance: 13
• Average early-career earnings for graduates: $50,400

Here’s the analysis for MTI

• Estimated net cost without financial aid: $29,200
• Estimated net cost with average state grant: $18,000
• Percent receiving need-based assistance: 50
• Percent receiving merit-based assistance: 47
• Average early-career earnings for graduates: $63,400

The top 10 education values were at:

1. Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
2. CUNY Bernard M Baruch College, New York City
3. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
4. University of California-Berkeley
5. University of California-Los Angeles
6. Stanford University, Stanford, California
7. University of California-Irvine
8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
9. University of California-Davis
10. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Read the full list, see where other Michigan schools landed.

University of Michigan Bell Tower photo by Justin Rumao via Flickr Commons