2024 Best Value Colleges for Education in Maryland
17
Ranked Colleges
5,394
Degrees Awarded
$21,900
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Education Schools in Maryland” ranking is part of that endeavor.
With 327,871 degrees handed out in 2020-2021, education is the 4th most popular major in the United States. In 2019-2020, education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $46,202 and had an average of $24,437 in loans still to pay off.
Across Maryland, there were 5,394 education graduates with average earnings and debt of $52,112 and $27,026 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Education Schools in Maryland” ranking looked at 17 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in education. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent education programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the education program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Education Schools in Maryland” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Education Schools in Maryland
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Education Schools in Maryland.
Top 17 Best Value Colleges for Education in Maryland
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Maryland - College Park. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Education Schools in Maryland. Located in College Park, Maryland, this large public school handed out 435 degrees to qualified ’s education students in 2020-2021.
UMCP also took the #2 spot in our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Maryland - College Park is $18,048 for maryland education students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full UMCP Education Report
Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Education Schools in Maryland that were part of this year’s ranking, Towson University landed the #2 spot on the list. Towson is a public institution located in Towson, Maryland. The school has a large population, and it awarded 765 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our maryland education students list, Towson has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Towson University is $18,105 for maryland education students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read more about Education at Towson University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Salisbury University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Education Schools in Maryland. Salisbury University is a medium-sized public school situated in Salisbury, Maryland. It awarded 221 ’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
Salisbury did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” list. The estimated yearly cost for Salisbury University is $18,402 for maryland education students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Education at Salisbury
Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Education Schools in Maryland that were part of this year’s ranking, Frostburg State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Frostburg State is a public institution located in Frostburg, Maryland. The school has a small population, and it awarded 171 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Frostburg State also took the #11 spot in our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Frostburg State is $15,748 for Maryland Education students.
Read more about Education at Frostburg State University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland - Baltimore County. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Value Education Schools in Maryland list. University of Maryland - Baltimore County is a fairly large school located in Baltimore, Maryland that handed out 171 ’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
UMBC also made our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend University of Maryland - Baltimore County is $19,460 for maryland education students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of Maryland - Baltimore County Education Report
Goucher College did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Education Schools in Maryland ranking, coming in at #6. Baltimore, Maryland is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s education degrees to 175 students in 2020-2021.
Goucher not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” list. The estimated yearly cost for Goucher is $25,366 for Maryland Education students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Education at Goucher
Montgomery College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in Maryland list. Rockville, Maryland is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s education degrees to 159 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Montgomery College, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Montgomery College is $8,073 for maryland education students.
Read full report on Education at Montgomery College
With a ranking of #8, Notre Dame of Maryland University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Education Schools in Maryland list. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 227 diplomas to qualified ’s education students in 2020-2021.
NDMU also made our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $19,990 for Maryland Education students per year to attend Notre Dame of Maryland University.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Education at NDMU
Morgan State University landed the #9 spot on the 2024 Best Value Education Schools in Maryland ranking. Morgan State is a medium-sized school located in Baltimore, Maryland that handed out 118 ’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
Morgan State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” list. The estimated yearly cost for Morgan State is $17,351 for maryland education students.
Read more about Education at Morgan State
McDaniel College landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Value Education Schools in Maryland ranking. McDaniel is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Westminster, Maryland. It awarded 424 ’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
McDaniel did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” list. The estimated yearly cost for McDaniel College is $22,385 for Maryland Education students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full McDaniel Education Report
University of Maryland Global Campus landed the #11 spot on the 2024 Best Value Education Schools in Maryland ranking. This large school is located in Adelphi, Maryland, and it awarded 156 ’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
UMGC also took the #15 spot in our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” ranking. It costs about $15,395 for Maryland Education students per year to attend University of Maryland Global Campus.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full UMGC Education Report
With a ranking of #12, Loyola University Maryland did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Education Schools in Maryland list. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 426 diplomas to qualified ’s education students in 2020-2021.
Loyola Maryland not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” list. The estimated yearly cost for Loyola Maryland is $35,387 for maryland education students.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Education at Loyola University Maryland
Hood College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in Maryland list. Hood is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Frederick, Maryland. It awarded 120 ’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
Hood also took the #13 spot in our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Hood is $23,809 for maryland education students.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Education at Hood
Stevenson University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Education Schools in Maryland ranking, coming in at #14. Located in Stevenson, Maryland, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 69 diplomas to qualified ’s education students in 2020-2021.
Stevenson did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” list. The yearly cost to attend Stevenson is $24,906 for Maryland Education students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Education at Stevenson University
Mount St Mary’s University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in Maryland list. The Mount is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It awarded 58 ’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
The Mount did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” list. The yearly cost to attend The Mount is $27,394 for Maryland Education students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Education at Mount St Mary’s University
Maryland Institute College of Art landed the #16 spot on the 2024 Best Value Education Schools in Maryland ranking. Baltimore, Maryland is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s education degrees to 20 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our maryland education students list, MICA has also earned the #16 rank in our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for MICA is $38,867 for Maryland Education students.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Education at MICA
Johns Hopkins University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in Maryland list. Johns Hopkins University is a large school located in Baltimore, Maryland that handed out 916 ’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
Johns Hopkins did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Education Schools in Maryland” list. The yearly cost to attend Johns Hopkins is $23,428 for maryland education students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about Education at Johns Hopkins
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Notes and References
References
- 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%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
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