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2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

11 Ranked Colleges
697 Degrees Awarded
$24,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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 California, there were 7,838 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,089 and $30,845 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 697 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general education 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 general education program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree education students with aid.

Top 11 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education in California (With Aid)

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #1 spot on the list. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 367 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $14,783 for california bachelor’s degree education students with aid per year to attend University of California - Irvine.

The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UC Irvine General Education Report

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. UCSD is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UCSD is $14,232 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about General Education at University of California - San Diego

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vanguard University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Vanguard University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Costa Mesa, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree education students with aid list, Vanguard has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $20,051 for california bachelor’s degree education students with aid per year to attend Vanguard University of Southern California.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Education at Vanguard

#4

Hope International University

Fullerton, California
#9 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Hope International University landed the #4 spot on the list. Hope International University is located in Fullerton, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 21 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree education students with aid list, Hope has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Hope International University is $20,318 for california bachelor’s degree education students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Hope General Education Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Arizona Global Campus. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 204 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

UAGC also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $20,510 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students with aid per year to attend UAGC.

Read full report on General Education at UAGC

#6

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Mount Saint Mary’s University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 4 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

MSMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Mount Saint Mary’s University is $29,214 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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 MSMU

#7

Mills College

Oakland, California
#10 in overall quality

Mills College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Mills is located in Oakland, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

Mills not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Mills is $22,202 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students with aid.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Mills College General Education Report

#8

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

University of Southern California ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s education students in 2019-2020.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for USC is $29,528 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full University of Southern California General Education Report

#9

Biola University

La Mirada, California
#6 in overall quality

Biola University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Biola University is a private not-for-profit institution located in La Mirada, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Biola did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Biola University is $31,859 for california bachelor’s degree education students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Biola University General Education Report

#10

University of La Verne

La Verne, California
#12 in overall quality

University of La Verne landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. ULV is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in La Verne, California. It awarded 1 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree education students with aid list, ULV has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $25,780 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students with aid per year to attend ULV.

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 ULV

#11

Chapman University

Orange, California

Chapman University landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Chapman is a medium-sized school located in Orange, California that handed out 46 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Chapman also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Chapman University is $41,350 for california bachelor’s degree education students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on General Education at Chapman 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

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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