2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $48-$75k) 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 Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k” 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 District of Columbia, there were 160 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,133 and $31,310 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 96 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $44,446 and $25,767 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in journalism. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality journalism programs that also have a lower cost than 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $48-$75k) in District of Columbia

#1

George Washington University

Washington, District of Columbia

#1 in overall quality

$22,287 Average Net Price

$41,565 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Washington University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k list. This large school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 51 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at GWU, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” ranking. It costs about $22,287 for district of columbia bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend George Washington University.

The low 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.

Full George Washington University Journalism Report

#2

American University

Washington, District of Columbia

#2 in overall quality

$33,158 Average Net Price

$39,369 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 #2 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 45 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our district of columbia bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $48-$75k list, The American University has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” ranking. It costs about $33,158 for district of columbia bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend American University.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low 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 full report on Journalism at American University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $48-$75k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $48-$75k)

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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