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2022 Best Value Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

7 Ranked Colleges
94 Degrees Awarded
$18,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

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

General Education is the 35th most popular major in the country with 29,936 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $47,138 and had an average of $29,674 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 94 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $45,900 and $25,557 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in general education. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general education programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general education program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The education 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 Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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 Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 7 Best Value Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 11 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State University is $10,054 for Iowa Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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 more about General Education at Iowa State University

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Iowa is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 26 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Iowa is $12,975 for Iowa Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Iowa General Education Report

#3

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Buena Vista University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Storm Lake, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified ’s education students in 2019-2020.

BVU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best General Education Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $14,210 for Iowa Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend BVU.

The impressive 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 General Education at BVU

#4

Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Loras College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Loras College is located in Dubuque, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 ’s education degrees to qualified students.

Loras also made our “Best General Education Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $16,154 for iowa education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Loras.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Education at Loras College

#5

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Grand View University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 16 degrees to qualified ’s education students in 2019-2020.

Grand View University also made our “Best General Education Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend Grand View University is $18,481 for Iowa Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Education at Grand View University

#6

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa

Dordt University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Sioux Center, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s education degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

Dordt also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $24,967 for iowa education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Dordt.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Education at Dordt

#7

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa

Clarke University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Clarke University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Dubuque, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 19 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Clarke, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Clarke is $32,534 for iowa education students whose families make $0-$30k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Education at Clarke University

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 KOKUYO.

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