2024 Best Value Geology Schools in Virginia
4
Ranked Colleges
144
Degrees Awarded
$20,800
Avg Net Price*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Geology Schools in Virginia” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Geological & Earth Sciences is the 95th most popular major in the country with 7,821 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, geological & earth sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $38,705 and had an average of $23,383 in loans still to pay off.
Across Virginia, there were 144 geological & earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,567 and $23,195 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools in Virginia” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in geological & earth sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geological & earth sciences 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 geological & earth sciences program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools
The geology 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 Geology Schools in Virginia”.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Geology Schools in Virginia
The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia geology students.
Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in Virginia
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Tech. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Geology Schools in Virginia. Virginia Tech is located in Blacksburg, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 26 ’s geology degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Virginia Tech, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Virginia Tech is $21,301 for virginia geology students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Virginia Tech
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend James Madison University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Geology Schools in Virginia. JMU is a large school located in Harrisonburg, Virginia that handed out 34 ’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia geology students list, JMU has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend James Madison University is $22,562 for virginia geology students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at JMU
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Geology Schools in Virginia. George Mason University is a large public school situated in Fairfax, Virginia. It awarded 19 ’s geology degrees in 2020-2021.
GMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for George Mason University is $19,551 for Virginia Geology 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%.
Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at George Mason University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend William & Mary. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Geology Schools in Virginia. William & Mary is a public institution located in Williamsburg, Virginia. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 27 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at William & Mary, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for William & Mary is $19,593 for Virginia Geology students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at William & Mary
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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
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Kelvinsong.
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