2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Early Childhood Education in Iowa

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Early Childhood Education is the 34th most popular major in the country with 31,017 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across Iowa, there were 122 early childhood education graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 79 early childhood education graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in early childhood education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality early childhood 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 early childhood education program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa bachelor’s degree child development students.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Early Childhood Education in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$15,620 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. UNI is a medium-sized school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa that handed out 36 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend UNI is $15,620 for iowa bachelor’s degree child development students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at University of Northern Iowa

#2

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$15,496 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $15,496 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Child development students per year to attend Iowa State University.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Full Iowa State University Early Childhood Education Report

#3

Northwestern College

Orange City, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$22,968 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa. Northwestern College is located in Orange City, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 bachelors’s child development degrees to qualified students.

NWC also took the #3 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $22,968 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Child development students per year to attend Northwestern College.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full NWC Early Childhood Education Report

#4

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$26,204 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Ambrose University landed the #4 spot on the list. This small school is located in Davenport, Iowa, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Saint Ambrose University is $26,204 for iowa bachelor’s degree child development students.

Full St. Ambrose University Early Childhood Education Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Early Childhood Education in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Early Childhood Education

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 Vgrigas.

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