2023 Best Value Colleges for Communication & Media Studies (Income $30-$48k) in District of Columbia

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Media Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Communication & Media Studies is the 82nd most popular major in the country with 10,266 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across District of Columbia, there were 126 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Media Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in communication and media studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent communication and media studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the communication and media studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Communication & Media Studies Schools

The media 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 Media Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Media Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Media Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Communication & Media Studies (Income $30-$48k) in District of Columbia

1

American University
Washington, District of Columbia

#1 in overall quality

$20,965 Average Net Price

$50,575 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend American University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Media Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k. The American University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 100 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The American University also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in District of Columbia” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for American University is $20,965 for District of Columbia Media Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at The American University

2

Catholic University of America
Washington, District of Columbia

#2 in overall quality

$27,863 Average Net Price

$55,014 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Catholic University of America. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Media Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k. CUA is a medium-sized school located in Washington, District of Columbia that handed out 17 ’s media studies degrees in 2020-2021.

CUA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Schools in District of Columbia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Catholic University of America is $27,863 for District of Columbia Media Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Catholic University of America

• Best Value Colleges for Communication & Media Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Colleges for Communication & Media Studies (Income $30-$48k)

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

Footnotes

• *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 UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland.