2023 Best Value Colleges for Marine Biology (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
14
Ranked Colleges
429
Degrees Awarded
$11,400
Avg Net Price*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.
Marine Biology is the 298th most popular major in the country with 1,835 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across the Far Western US region, there were 429 marine biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 14 colleges that offer a degree in marine biology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent marine biology 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 marine biology program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Marine Biology Schools
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 14 Best Value Colleges for Marine Biology (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. UW Seattle is a large public school situated in Seattle, Washington. It awarded 31 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
UW Seattle not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus is $5,194 for far western us region biological oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.1% 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 Marine Biology at UW Seattle
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 10 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCLA is $9,037 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, 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 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Los Angeles Marine Biology Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of California - San Diego is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 121 ’s biological oceanography degrees to qualified students.
UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - San Diego is $9,823 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Read more about Marine Biology at UCSD
Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #4 spot on the list. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large school located in Santa Cruz, California that handed out 72 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Santa Cruz also took the #5 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Santa Cruz is $11,038 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Marine Biology at University of California - Santa Cruz
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. UCSB is a large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 2 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
UCSB also took the #6 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $10,568 for far western us region biological oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UCSB.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%.
Full UCSB Marine Biology Report
University of Southern California did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend USC is $17,287 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Southern California Marine Biology Report
California State University - Long Beach did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. California State University - Long Beach is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 25 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
CSULB also took the #9 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Long Beach is $6,663 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Long Beach Marine Biology Report
University of Hawaii at Manoa ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, this fairly large public school awarded 53 diplomas to qualified ’s biological oceanography students in 2020-2021.
UH Manoa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $10,124 for far western us region biological oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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 full report on Marine Biology at University of Hawaii at Manoa
With a ranking of #9, San Jose State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s biological oceanography degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
San Jose State also made our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $12,158 for far western us region biological oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend San Jose State University.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Marine Biology at San Jose State
Western Washington University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Bellingham, Washington, and it awarded 20 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
WWU also took the #10 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $9,979 for far western us region biological oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Western Washington University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 Marine Biology at Western Washington University
University of Alaska Fairbanks came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of Alaska Fairbanks is a medium-sized public school situated in Fairbanks, Alaska. It awarded 5 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
UAF also took the #13 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UAF is $6,880 for far western us region biological oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Marine Biology at University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Oregon landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This large school is located in Eugene, Oregon, and it awarded 17 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
UO also made our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $13,666 for far western us region biological oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UO.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UO Marine Biology Report
University of Hawaii at Hilo ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Hawaii at Hilo is a small school located in Hilo, Hawaii that handed out 27 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our far western us region biological oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k list, UH Hilo has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Hawaii at Hilo is $10,848 for Far Western US Region Biological Oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Marine Biology at University of Hawaii at Hilo
With a ranking of #14, Hawaii Pacific University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Biological Oceanography Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in Honolulu, Hawaii, and it awarded 28 ’s biological oceanography degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Hawaii Pacific University, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Marine Biology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Hawaii Pacific University is $26,079 for far western us region biological oceanography students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 Marine Biology at Hawaii Pacific University
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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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