Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Pennsylvania

5 Ranked Colleges
161 Degrees Awarded
$16,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Pennsylvania 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 Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Area Studies is the 106th most popular major in the country with 6,820 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,734 and had an average of $23,024 in loans still to pay off.

Across Pennsylvania, there were 380 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,150 and $25,980 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 161 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in area studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality area 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 area studies 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.

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

The area studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Pennsylvania

#1

Dickinson College

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dickinson College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Carlisle, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 31 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Dickinson, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $11,046 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Dickinson College.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Area Studies at Dickinson College

#2

Gettysburg College

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Gettysburg College landed the #2 spot on the list. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

Gettysburg did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for Gettysburg College is $11,244 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Area Studies at Gettysburg College

#3

Millersville University of Pennsylvania

Millersville, Pennsylvania

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Millersville University of Pennsylvania landed the #3 spot on the list. Millersville is a medium-sized public school situated in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It awarded 13 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Millersville not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $16,878 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Millersville.

Full Millersville University of Pennsylvania Area Studies Report

#4

Temple University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Temple University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Temple is a large school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 2 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Temple also made our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $18,315 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Temple.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Area Studies at Temple University

#5

La Salle University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend La Salle University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

La Salle also made our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $22,756 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend La Salle University.

Full La Salle Area Studies Report

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

Featured Political and Social Sciences Schools

Find Schools Near You