2026 Best Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Best programs are offered at a focused set of schools across the country. A focused field like this rewards careful comparison of the schools that offer it.

For its 2026 ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for best students pursuing a degree.

What’s on this page:

• Best Best Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Best Schools for Best in the Great Lakes Region

If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the best degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Schools in Best

1

Rosalind Franklin University Of Medicine And Science
North Chicago, IL

Doctoral Degree Highest Degree Type

80 Best Degrees Awarded

$65,640 Median Starting Salary

Leading the list is Rosalind Franklin University Of Medicine And Science, our #1 school for best. Rosalind Franklin University Of Medicine And Science is a mid-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of North Chicago. There were roughly 80 best students who graduated with this degree at Rosalind Franklin University Of Medicine And Science in the most recent data year. Graduates of the best program make about $65,640 in their early career. Read more about the best program at Rosalind Franklin University Of Medicine And Science

2

Kent State University At Kent
Kent, OH

Doctoral Degree Highest Degree Type

98 Best Degrees Awarded

$61,632 Median Starting Salary

Kent State University At Kent came in at #2 on our 2026 list of the best best schools. This very large public university is located in the suburb of Kent. Roughly 64% of students complete a degree within six years here. There were roughly 98 best students who graduated with this degree at Kent State University At Kent in the most recent data year. Graduates of the best program make about $61,632 in their early career. Kent State University At Kent graduates carry a median of $25,174 in student loans. See the full best program report for Kent State University At Kent

Notes and References

The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 2 schools evaluated.

• 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.