2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k
7
Ranked Colleges
307
Degrees Awarded
$9,600
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 6,966 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. 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 Plains States region, there were 307 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,952 and $25,098 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer 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.
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. 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 in the Plains States Region 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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Carleton College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Carleton College is a small school located in Northfield, Minnesota that handed out 15 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Carleton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $6,208 for Plains States Region Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Carleton.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Area Studies at Carleton
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Duluth. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k. UMN Duluth is a medium-sized school located in Duluth, Minnesota that handed out 10 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UMN Duluth also took the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMN Duluth is $7,843 for Plains States Region Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.
Read more about Area Studies at University of Minnesota - Duluth
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #3 spot on the list. UMN Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UMN Twin Cities not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UMN Twin Cities is $7,698 for plains states region area studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Missouri - Columbia. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Columbia, Missouri, this large public school awarded 70 diplomas to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mizzou, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $11,005 for plains states region area studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Mizzou.
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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%.
Read more about Area Studies at Mizzou
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, St Olaf College landed the #5 spot on the list. St Olaf College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Northfield, Minnesota. It awarded 28 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
St. Olaf not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for St Olaf College is $11,112 for plains states region area studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at St. Olaf
Iowa State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Iowa State is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 16 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region area studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, Iowa State has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State University is $9,766 for plains states region area studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, 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 89%.
Read more about Area Studies at Iowa State University
With a ranking of #7, University of Iowa did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 30 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region area studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, Iowa has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $13,554 for Plains States Region Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Iowa.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Area Studies at Iowa
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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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