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2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

6 Ranked Colleges
50 Degrees Awarded
$16,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 California, there were 124 engineering and applied physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 50 engineering and applied physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 6 colleges that offer a degree 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the engineering and applied physics program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Engineering & Applied Physics Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 6 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $30-$48k) in California

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 11 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s applied physics students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Berkeley is $9,130 for california bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UC Berkeley Engineering & Applied Physics Report

#2

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the #2 spot on the list. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 3 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $30-$48k list, Caltech has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $3,756 for california bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Caltech.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full California Institute of Technology Engineering & Applied Physics Report

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD also made our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for UCSD is $9,974 for California Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UCSD Engineering & Applied Physics Report

#4

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Santa Clara University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Santa Clara University is a medium-sized school located in Santa Clara, California that handed out 6 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SCU, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $18,949 for California Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend SCU.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. 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%.

Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at SCU

#5

University of the Pacific

Stockton, California
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of the Pacific. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of the Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Stockton, California. It awarded 2 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $30-$48k list, Pacific has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of the Pacific is $23,385 for California Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.8% 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.

Full Pacific Engineering & Applied Physics Report

#6

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

Loyola Marymount University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. This medium-sized school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $30-$48k list, Loyola Marymount has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Loyola Marymount University is $35,166 for california bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, 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 Engineering & Applied Physics at Loyola Marymount 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 NASA.

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