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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for American U.S. Studies (Income $0-$30k) in California

8 Ranked Colleges
234 Degrees Awarded
$8,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 1,596 people earned their degree in American U.S. studies, making the major the 309th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 432 American U.S. studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 234 American U.S. studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in American U.S. studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality American U.S. studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the American U.S. studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank American U.S. Studies Schools

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 United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for American U.S. Studies (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, Stanford has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $-1,387 for California Bachelor’s Degree United States Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Stanford University. When an average net price is negative, it usually means that the student will receive more financial aid than it costs to attend the school.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Stanford University American U.S. Studies Report

#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 #2 for the Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 79 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s United States studies 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 American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Berkeley is $8,392 for california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about American U.S. Studies at UC Berkeley

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Fullerton, California, and it awarded 67 bachelors’s United States studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal State Fullerton not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $4,291 for california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cal State Fullerton.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about American U.S. Studies at Cal State Fullerton

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. California State University - Long Beach is located in Long Beach, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 36 bachelors’s United States studies degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, CSULB has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSULB is $6,364 for california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Full CSULB American U.S. Studies Report

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Davis, California, this large public school awarded 16 degrees to qualified bachelors’s United States studies students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Davis has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $9,842 for California Bachelor’s Degree United States Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Davis.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read full report on American U.S. Studies at University of California - Davis

#6

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, San Francisco State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. SFSU is a large school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 4 bachelors’s United States studies degrees in 2019-2020.

SFSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend SFSU is $11,123 for California Bachelor’s Degree United States Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on American U.S. Studies at San Francisco State University

#7

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

University of Southern California landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s United States studies degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, USC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for USC is $14,668 for California Bachelor’s Degree United States Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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 impressive 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Full University of Southern California American U.S. Studies Report

#8

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#8 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Cruz, California. It awarded 1 bachelors’s United States studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Santa Cruz, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Santa Cruz is $10,872 for California Bachelor’s Degree United States Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full University of California - Santa Cruz American U.S. Studies Report

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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.

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