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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics in California (With Aid)

6 Ranked Colleges
50 Degrees Awarded
$27,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

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 Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Engineering & Applied Physics is the 440th most popular major in the country with 941 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

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.

This year’s “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 6 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. 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 Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 6 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics in California (With Aid)

#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 Getting Aid. UC Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 11 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $15,329 for California Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at UC Berkeley

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #2 spot on the list. University of California - San Diego is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCSD, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCSD is $14,232 for California Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. 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%.

Full UCSD Engineering & Applied Physics Report

#3

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 Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the #3 spot on the list. California Institute of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 3 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech also took the #1 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Caltech is $24,274 for california bachelor’s degree applied physics students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at California Institute of Technology

#4

University of the Pacific

Stockton, California
#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of the Pacific. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. University of the Pacific is located in Stockton, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s applied physics degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree applied physics students with aid list, Pacific has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $28,929 for California Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students with aid per year to attend University of the Pacific.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at Pacific

#5

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 #5 for the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. Located in Santa Clara, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 6 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s applied physics students 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. The yearly cost to attend SCU is $38,327 for California Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Santa Clara University Engineering & Applied Physics Report

#6

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

Loyola Marymount University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s applied physics students in 2019-2020.

Loyola Marymount also took the #4 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $42,861 for California Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students with aid per year to attend Loyola Marymount.

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

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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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