2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education in California
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking.
In 2019-2020, 29,936 people earned their degree in general education, making the major the 35th most popular in the United States. 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” ranking analyzed 12 colleges that offered a degree in general education. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general education programs, but they also 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Featured schools near , edit
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 Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.
Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education in California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of California - Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 367 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Irvine is $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Education at University of California - Irvine
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #2 spot on the list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s education degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.
UCSD also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $14,232 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students per year to attend University of California - San Diego.
The low student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northcentral University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. San Diego, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s education degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.
Northcentral University also took the #11 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Vanguard University of Southern California. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. Vanguard is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Costa Mesa, California. It awarded 12 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.
Vanguard also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend Vanguard University of Southern California is $20,051 for california bachelor’s degree education students.
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 full report on General Education at Vanguard University of Southern California
With a ranking of #6, Hope International University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Fullerton, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 21 degrees to qualified bachelors’s education students in 2019-2020.
Hope also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $20,318 for california bachelor’s degree education students per year to attend Hope.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on General Education at Hope International University
Mills College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in Oakland, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s education students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mills, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Mills is $22,202 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.
Biola University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. La Mirada, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s education degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.
Biola also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $31,859 for california bachelor’s degree education students per year to attend Biola University.
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%.
Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This small school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at MSMU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend MSMU is $29,214 for california bachelor’s degree education students.
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 student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about General Education at Mount Saint Mary’s University
University of La Verne landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. University of La Verne 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 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 per year to attend University of La Verne.
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%.
Chapman University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Chapman University is located in Orange, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 46 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Chapman, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $41,350 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students per year to attend Chapman.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
University of Southern California ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $29,528 for california bachelor’s degree education students per year to attend University of Southern California.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 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 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Southern California General Education Report
- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education in the Far Western US Region
- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Similar Major
Instructional Media Design
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Instructional Media Design in California
Education Philosophy
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Education Philosophy in California
Teacher Education Grade Specific
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Teacher Education Grade Specific in California
Teaching English or French
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Teaching English or French in California
Educational Assessment
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Educational Assessment in California
Special Education
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Special Education in California
Teacher Education Subject Specific
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Teacher Education Subject Specific in California
Other Education
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Other Education in California
Switch to a More Focused Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
Best General Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
General Education students in the state of California
Most Focused Bachelor's Degree Colleges for General Education in California
General Education students in California
Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Online General Education Schools
General Education students in California
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in California
General Education students with family income less than $30k in California
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $48-$75k) in California
General Education students with family income $48-$75k in California
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for General Education (Income Over $110k) in California
General Education students with family income exceeding $110k in California
Highest Paid Bachelor's Degree General Education Graduates in California
General Education students in California
Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for General Education in California
General Education students in California
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for General Education in California (With Aid)
General Education students getting aid in California
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $30-$48k) in California
General Education students with family income $30-$48k in California
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $75-$110k) in California
General Education students with family income $75-$110k in California
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for General Education in California
General Education students in California
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.
Featured Schools
Request Info
|
Southern New Hampshire University
You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More > |
College Factual provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© College Factual – All Rights Reserved.
