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2022 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Washington

5 Ranked Colleges
282 Degrees Awarded
$8,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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 Washington, there were 282 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,350 and $23,411 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 5 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Washington

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a large public school situated in Seattle, Washington. It awarded 228 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW Seattle, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Washington” ranking. It costs about $7,850 for Washington Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UW Seattle.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Washington - Seattle Campus Area Studies Report

#2

Western Washington University

Bellingham, Washington

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Washington University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington For Those Making $0-$30k list. Bellingham, Washington is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

WWU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in Washington” list. The yearly cost to attend Western Washington University is $9,743 for Washington Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%.

Read full report on Area Studies at WWU

#3

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Washington State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington For Those Making $0-$30k. Washington State University is a large public school situated in Pullman, Washington. It awarded 3 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our washington area studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, Wazzu has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Washington” ranking. It costs about $9,334 for washington area studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Washington State University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Wazzu Area Studies Report

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Washington - Tacoma Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. UW Tacoma is a medium-sized public school situated in Tacoma, Washington. It awarded 5 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW Tacoma, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Washington” ranking. It costs about $6,545 for washington area studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Washington - Tacoma Campus.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at UW Tacoma

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Washington For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Washington - Bothell Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Washington - Bothell Campus is a medium-sized school located in Bothell, Washington that handed out 6 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UW Bothell did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in Washington” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Washington - Bothell Campus is $6,922 for washington area 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 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at UW Bothell

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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