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2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

7 Ranked Colleges
65 Degrees Awarded
$11,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 941 people earned their degree in engineering and applied physics, making the major the 440th most popular in the United States.

Across the Southwest region, there were 65 engineering and applied physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in engineering and applied physics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality engineering and applied physics 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 engineering and applied physics program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $0-$30k) in the Southwest Region

#1

Rice University

Houston, Texas

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Rice University landed the #1 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Houston, Texas, and it awarded 9 ’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Rice, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Rice University is $3,437 for southwest region applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 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. The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at Rice

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k. UT Rio Grande Valley is located in Edinburg, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 ’s applied physics degrees to qualified students.

UT Rio Grande Valley also took the #6 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UT Rio Grande Valley is $2,993 for Southwest Region Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Engineering & Applied Physics Report

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, New Mexico State University - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. New Mexico State University - Main Campus is a public institution located in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 6 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NMSU Main Campus, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend NMSU Main Campus is $6,896 for southwest region applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at New Mexico State University - Main Campus

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Central Oklahoma. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Edmond, Oklahoma, this fairly large public school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified ’s applied physics students in 2019-2020.

UCO also took the #4 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $12,297 for southwest region applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Central Oklahoma.

Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at University of Central Oklahoma

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Oklahoma Norman Campus is a large school located in Norman, Oklahoma that handed out 7 ’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Oklahoma, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $16,675 for Southwest Region Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Oklahoma.

The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

#6

University of Tulsa

Tulsa, Oklahoma

University of Tulsa did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. University of Tulsa is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It awarded 1 ’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, University of Tulsa has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $14,391 for Southwest Region Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Tulsa.

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. The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.

Full University of Tulsa Engineering & Applied Physics Report

#7

LeTourneau University

Longview, Texas

LeTourneau University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. LeTourneau University is located in Longview, Texas and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 ’s applied physics degrees to qualified students.

LETU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for LETU is $20,897 for southwest region applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at LETU

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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 NASA.

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