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2023 Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k

14 Ranked Colleges
522 Degrees Awarded
$18,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2020-2021, 6,817 people earned their degree in creative writing, making the major the 120th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 522 creative writing graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 14 colleges that offered a degree in creative writing. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent creative writing 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 creative writing program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 14 Best Value Colleges for Creative Writing (Income $30-$48k) in California

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Fresno State is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 8 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Fresno State, the school also landed the #15 spot in our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $4,655 for california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.2% 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 California State University - Fresno Creative Writing Report

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s creative writing degrees to 102 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k list, UCR has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,193 for california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of California - Riverside.

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 low undergrad 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%.

Full UCR Creative Writing Report

3
SDSU crest
San Diego State University
San Diego, California

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #3 spot on the list. SDSU is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 15 ’s creative writing degrees to qualified students.

SDSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for San Diego State University is $9,274 for california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Creative Writing at SDSU

4

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the #4 spot on the list. California State University - Long Beach is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 10 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.

CSULB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list. It costs about $7,573 for California Creative Writing students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend CSULB.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Creative Writing at CSULB

5
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 45 diplomas to qualified ’s creative writing students in 2020-2021.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend USC is $17,345 for california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k.

The impressive undergraduate 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 school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of Southern California Creative Writing Report

6

University of California - Irvine ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s creative writing degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.

UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list. It costs about $8,449 for california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of California - Irvine.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UC Irvine Creative Writing Report

7
SFSU crest
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #7. San Francisco State University is a large school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 22 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SFSU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Francisco State University is $11,862 for california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Creative Writing at San Francisco State University

8
Mills crest
Mills College
Oakland, California

Mills College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Mills is a small school located in Oakland, California that handed out 11 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.

Mills did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Mills is $22,472 for california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%.

Full Mills College Creative Writing Report

9
University of Redlands crest
University of Redlands
Redlands, California

University of Redlands ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit institution located in Redlands, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

University of Redlands also made our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list, coming in at #14. The estimated yearly cost for University of Redlands is $22,360 for california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 Redlands Creative Writing Report

10
Cal Baptist crest
California Baptist University
Riverside, California

California Baptist University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Riverside, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s creative writing degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.

Cal Baptist also made our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list, coming in at #17. The yearly cost to attend California Baptist University is $22,162 for California Creative Writing students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal Baptist Creative Writing Report

11

Saint Mary’s College of California ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. SMC is located in Moraga, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 16 ’s creative writing degrees to qualified students.

SMC also made our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list, coming in at #10. The estimated yearly cost for SMC is $30,065 for California Creative Writing students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Creative Writing at SMC

12
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, California

University of San Francisco came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. University of San Francisco is located in San Francisco, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 29 ’s creative writing degrees to qualified students.

USFCA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list. It costs about $31,994 for california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of San Francisco.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Creative Writing at USFCA

13
Chapman crest
Chapman University
Orange, California

Chapman University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Chapman University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Orange, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 58 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Chapman not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Chapman University is $32,071 for california creative writing students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Creative Writing at Chapman University

14
California College of the Arts crest
California College of the Arts
San Francisco, California

California College of the Arts ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Creative Writing Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. California College of the Arts is a small private not-for-profit school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 16 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.

California College of the Arts did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Creative Writing Schools in California” list. It costs about $24,239 for California Creative Writing students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California College of the Arts.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Creative Writing at California College of the Arts

Notes and References

References

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