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

5 Ranked Colleges
90 Degrees Awarded
$9,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota 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. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 6,820 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 106th most popular in the United States. 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 Minnesota, there were 90 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,800 and $20,950 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great area studies programs and 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Area 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 Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best for minnesota area studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

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

#1

Carleton College

Northfield, Minnesota

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 Minnesota For Those Making $0-$30k. Carleton is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Northfield, Minnesota. It awarded 21 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Carleton not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in Minnesota” list. It costs about $9,579 for Minnesota Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Carleton.

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. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area Studies at Carleton College

#2

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UMN Twin Cities also took the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Minnesota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMN Twin Cities is $7,266 for Minnesota 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 93%. 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%.

Full UMN Twin Cities Area Studies Report

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Duluth landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Minnesota - Duluth is a fairly large public school situated in Duluth, Minnesota. It awarded 4 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMN Duluth, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Minnesota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Minnesota - Duluth is $7,443 for Minnesota Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of Minnesota - Duluth

#4

St Olaf College

Northfield, Minnesota

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, St Olaf College landed the #4 spot on the list. Northfield, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

St. Olaf did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in Minnesota” list. The estimated yearly cost for St. Olaf is $12,459 for Minnesota Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Area Studies at St. Olaf

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Minnesota State University - Mankato. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Mankato, Minnesota, and it awarded 2 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Minnesota State Mankato also made our “Best Area Studies Schools in Minnesota” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for Minnesota State University - Mankato is $11,057 for Minnesota Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at Minnesota State University - Mankato

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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