2023 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in the Plains States Region
7
Ranked Colleges
307
Degrees Awarded
$20,200
Avg Net Price*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Area Studies is the 115th most popular major in the country with 6,966 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,127 and had an average of $20,927 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Plains States region, there were 307 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,952 and $25,098 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the area studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools
The area studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region.
Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in the Plains States Region
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Duluth landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Duluth, Minnesota, this medium-sized public school handed out 10 degrees to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region area studies students list, UMN Duluth has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $18,505 for plains states region area studies students per year to attend UMN Duluth.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at University of Minnesota - Duluth
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region list. Iowa State University is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 16 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our plains states region area studies students list, Iowa State has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State University is $16,002 for Plains States Region Area Studies students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Area Studies at Iowa State
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Missouri - Columbia landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Columbia, Missouri, and it awarded 70 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region area studies students list, Mizzou has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Mizzou is $16,559 for Plains States Region Area Studies students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Mizzou Area Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region list. UMN Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UMN Twin Cities not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $17,878 for plains states region area studies students per year to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Area Studies Report
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #5 spot on the list. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 30 students in 2020-2021.
Iowa also made our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $19,401 for plains states region area studies students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 University of Iowa Area Studies Report
St Olaf College landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. St Olaf College is located in Northfield, Minnesota and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 28 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
St. Olaf did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend St Olaf College is $24,052 for plains states region area studies students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Area Studies at St Olaf College
Carleton College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in Northfield, Minnesota, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 15 diplomas to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
Carleton not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Carleton College is $28,928 for plains states region area studies students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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.
Read more about Area Studies at Carleton College
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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.
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