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Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

81 Colleges
$7,618 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate School for You

With 85,339 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022, practical nursing & nursing assistants is the #2 most popular major in the United States.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses.

The Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 81 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which basic certificate programs offered the best value experiences for practical nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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.

2023 Best Value Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Colleges.

Top 15% Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Madison Area Technical College the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Madison College is a large public school located in the large city of Madison.

Madison College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,812 in tuition and fees each year.

Madison College also took the #1 spot in our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region rankings.

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The excellent basic certificate programs at Moraine Park Technical College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value practical nursing & nursing assistants schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Fond du Lac, Moraine Park Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

Moraine Park Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,793 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Moraine Park Technical College also did well on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Moraine Park Technical College

The excellent basic certificate programs at Chippewa Valley Technical College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value practical nursing & nursing assistants schools in the Great Lakes Region . CVTC is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Eau Claire.

CVTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,793 in tuition and fees each year.

CVTC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Chippewa Valley Technical College

The excellent basic certificate programs at Fox Valley Technical College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value practical nursing & nursing assistants schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the suburb of Appleton, FVTC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at FVTC are $6,977 a year.

FVTC did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

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#5

Blackhawk Technical College

Janesville, WI

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Blackhawk Technical College is a great value for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Located in the small suburb of Janesville, BTC is a public school with a small student population.

BTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,793 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, BTC is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

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With a ranking of #6, Northcentral Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Located in the small city of Wausau, North Central Technical College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at North Central Technical College are $5,512 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, North Central Technical College also is in the top 20% of our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

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With a ranking of #7, Gateway Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Located in the midsize suburb of Kenosha, Gateway Technical College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Gateway Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,917 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Gateway Technical College also did well on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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Northeast Wisconsin Technical College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate practical nursing & nursing assistants programs. Located in the midsize city of Green Bay, NWTC is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NWTC are $6,965 a year.

NWTC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Report

Waukesha County Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing & nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. WCTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Pewaukee.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WCTC are $6,722 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, WCTC also is in the top 20% of our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Waukesha County Technical College

#10

Western Technical College

La Crosse, WI

Western Technical College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Western Technical College is a small public school located in the city of La Crosse.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Western Technical College are $6,788 a year.

Western Technical College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Western Technical College Report

#11

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

Ivy Tech Community College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Ivy Tech Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,927 in tuition and fees each year.

Ivy Tech Community College also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Ivy Tech Community College

Southwest Wisconsin Technical College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the rural area of Fennimore, Southwest Tech is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southwest Tech are $6,731 a year.

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Additional Noteworthy Schools

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 Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Mid-State Technical College Wisconsin Rapids, WI
14 Highland Community College Freeport, IL
15 Lakeshore Technical College Cleveland, WI
16 John A Logan College Carterville, IL

Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Colleges by State

Explore the best practical nursing & nursing assistants schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,324
Indiana 2,268
Wisconsin 6,068
Ohio 4,902
Illinois 5,858

Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants is one of 11 different types of trade school programs to choose from.

Practical Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training 45,031
Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide 35,655
Other Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants 4,653

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services 88,600
Allied Health Professions 83,905
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 83,587
Health Sciences & Services 36,762
Mental & Social Health Services 30,331

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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