2022 Best Value Colleges for Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in Alabama

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 Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 14,528 people earned their degree in journalism, making the major the 62nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,042 and had an average of $24,628 in loans still to pay off.

Across Alabama, there were 236 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,000 and $23,014 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in journalism. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great journalism programs and 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 journalism program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in Alabama

#1

Auburn University

Auburn, Alabama

#2 in overall quality

$18,394 Average Net Price

$46,909 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Auburn University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Auburn, Alabama, this large public school handed out 53 diplomas to qualified ’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Auburn, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Alabama” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Auburn University is $18,394 for alabama journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Journalism at Auburn University

#2

The University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

#3 in overall quality

$19,322 Average Net Price

$44,897 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Alabama. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Making $0-$30k. UA is a public institution located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The school has a large population, and it awarded 109 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our alabama journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, UA has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Journalism Schools in Alabama” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The University of Alabama is $19,322 for alabama journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Journalism at The University of Alabama

#3

Samford University

Birmingham, Alabama

#1 in overall quality

$21,953 Average Net Price

$57,458 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Samford University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Making $0-$30k. Samford is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Birmingham, Alabama. It awarded 61 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Samford also made our “Best Journalism Schools in Alabama” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Samford is $21,953 for Alabama Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Samford Journalism Report

#4

Troy University

Troy, Alabama

#4 in overall quality

$14,062 Average Net Price

$37,149 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Troy University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Alabama For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Troy, Alabama, and it awarded 7 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

TROY also made our “Best Journalism Schools in Alabama” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Troy University is $14,062 for alabama journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Journalism at Troy University

• Best Value Colleges for Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Colleges for Journalism (Income $0-$30k)

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 Jfurrer.

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