2023 Best Value Colleges for General Education in Virginia (With Aid)
9
Ranked Colleges
918
Degrees Awarded
$22,700
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking.
General Education is the 31st most popular major in the country with 29,810 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across Virginia, there were 918 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in general education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general education programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general education program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank General Education 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 General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for General Education in Virginia (With Aid)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. University of Virginia - Main Campus is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 159 ’s general education degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our virginia general education students with aid list, University of Virginia has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Education Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $22,006 for virginia general education students with aid per year to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about General Education at University of Virginia
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend James Madison University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and it awarded 295 ’s general education degrees in 2020-2021.
JMU also made our “Best General Education Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend JMU is $22,562 for Virginia General Education students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full JMU General Education Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Commonwealth University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Virginia Commonwealth University is a large public school situated in Richmond, Virginia. It awarded 116 ’s general education degrees in 2020-2021.
VCU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best General Education Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend VCU is $20,490 for virginia general education students with aid.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Virginia Commonwealth University General Education Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Radford University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. This medium-sized school is located in Radford, Virginia, and it awarded 38 ’s general education degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia general education students with aid list, Radford has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best General Education Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Radford is $16,505 for virginia general education students with aid.
Read more about General Education at Radford University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, this large public school awarded 27 degrees to qualified ’s general education students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at GMU, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for GMU is $19,551 for Virginia General Education students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full GMU General Education Report
With a ranking of #6, Longwood University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Longwood University is a small public school situated in Farmville, Virginia. It awarded 75 ’s general education degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Longwood, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Longwood is $19,545 for virginia general education students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Education at Longwood University
University of Mary Washington did quite well in the 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. UMW is a small school located in Fredericksburg, Virginia that handed out 75 ’s general education degrees in 2020-2021.
UMW not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best General Education Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $23,193 for Virginia General Education students with aid per year to attend University of Mary Washington.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Education at UMW
Liberty University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 93 diplomas to qualified ’s general education students in 2020-2021.
Liberty University also took the #5 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $29,382 for virginia general education students with aid per year to attend Liberty University.
Read full report on General Education at Liberty University
Shenandoah University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. This small school is located in Winchester, Virginia, and it awarded 24 ’s general education degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia general education students with aid list, Shenandoah has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best General Education Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Shenandoah University is $30,878 for virginia general education students with aid.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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 General Education at Shenandoah
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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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