2023 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Rocky Mountains Region
4
Ranked Colleges
193
Degrees Awarded
$10,500
Avg Net Price*
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 Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Area Studies is the 115th most popular major in the country with 6,966 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,127 and had an average of $20,927 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 193 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,111 and $14,001 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies programs, but they also cost less that 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 area studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Rocky Mountains Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brigham Young University - Provo. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k. BYU is a large school located in Provo, Utah that handed out 69 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
BYU also made our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for BYU is $9,445 for rocky mountains region area studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, 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 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Area Studies at Brigham Young University - Provo
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Utah. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Utah is a large school located in Salt Lake City, Utah that handed out 26 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
U of U did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $10,431 for Rocky Mountains Region Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend U of U.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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 Area Studies at U of U
Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Utah State University landed the #3 spot on the list. USU is a large public school situated in Logan, Utah. It awarded 34 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
USU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for USU is $9,148 for Rocky Mountains Region Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at USU
Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Colorado Boulder landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Boulder, Colorado, this large public school awarded 17 diplomas to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at CU - Boulder, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Colorado Boulder is $13,141 for Rocky Mountains Region Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full CU - Boulder Area 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
- *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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