2023 Best Value Colleges for Communication & Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in Virginia
13
Ranked Colleges
2,558
Degrees Awarded
$18,400
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Communication & Journalism is the 11th most popular major in the country with 120,571 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, communication and journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,266 and had an average of $24,758 in loans still to pay off.
Across Virginia, there were 2,558 communication and journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,656 and $28,225 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 13 colleges that offered a degree in communication and journalism. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent communication and journalism programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the communication and journalism program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Communication & Journalism Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” 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. 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 Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 13 Best Value Colleges for Communication & Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in Virginia
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Tech landed the #1 spot on the list. Virginia Tech is a large public school situated in Blacksburg, Virginia. It awarded 266 ’s communication and journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Virginia Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Virginia Tech is $11,934 for virginia communication & journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at Virginia Tech
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, James Madison University landed the #2 spot on the list. James Madison University is a large public school situated in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It awarded 446 ’s communication and journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
JMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for JMU is $14,288 for Virginia Communication & Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at James Madison University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Radford University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k list. Radford is located in Radford, Virginia and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 115 ’s communication and journalism degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our virginia communication & journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, Radford has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Radford is $11,420 for Virginia Communication & Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
Full Radford Communication & Journalism Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Commonwealth University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k. Virginia Commonwealth University is a large school located in Richmond, Virginia that handed out 258 ’s communication and journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
VCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $14,507 for Virginia Communication & Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend VCU.
The low undergrad 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%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Virginia Commonwealth University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Christopher Newport University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k. CNU is a small school located in Newport News, Virginia that handed out 107 ’s communication and journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
CNU also made our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend CNU is $15,862 for Virginia Communication & Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Christopher Newport University Communication & Journalism Report
Bridgewater College did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Bridgewater, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s communication and journalism degrees to 19 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia communication & journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, Bridgewater has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $16,714 for Virginia Communication & Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Bridgewater.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Bridgewater College
Roanoke College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Salem, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s communication and journalism degrees to 22 students in 2020-2021.
Roanoke also took the #8 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $20,495 for virginia communication & journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Roanoke College.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Roanoke
Regent University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Regent is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It awarded 106 ’s communication and journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Regent did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $20,479 for virginia communication & journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Regent University.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at Regent
With a ranking of #9, Randolph - Macon College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k list. Randolph - Macon College is located in Ashland, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 41 ’s communication and journalism degrees to qualified students.
Randolph - Macon not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $20,454 for Virginia Communication & Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Randolph - Macon.
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%. 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 Communication & Journalism at Randolph - Macon
Virginia State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Virginia State is located in Petersburg, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 60 ’s communication and journalism degrees to qualified students.
Virginia State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Virginia State University is $15,823 for virginia communication & journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at Virginia State
University of Lynchburg ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in Lynchburg, Virginia, and it awarded 20 ’s communication and journalism degrees in 2020-2021.
Lynchburg not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Lynchburg is $17,706 for Virginia Communication & Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at University of Lynchburg
Liberty University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. Lynchburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s communication and journalism degrees to 560 students in 2020-2021.
Liberty University also made our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend Liberty University is $29,786 for Virginia Communication & Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Communication & Journalism at Liberty University
Hampton University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #13. Located in Hampton, Virginia, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 75 diplomas to qualified ’s communication and journalism students in 2020-2021.
Hampton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Communication & Journalism Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Hampton is $29,889 for Virginia Communication & Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Communication & Journalism at Hampton 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.
Credits
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