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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in Virginia

5 Ranked Colleges
151 Degrees Awarded
$12,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k

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 for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 Virginia, there were 177 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,775 and $21,966 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 151 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 Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered 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 for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k” 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. 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 Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in Virginia

#1

William & Mary

Williamsburg, Virginia

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, William & Mary landed the #1 spot on the list. William & Mary is a medium-sized public school situated in Williamsburg, Virginia. It awarded 38 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

William & Mary did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for William & Mary is $4,963 for virginia bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at William & Mary

#2

University of Richmond

University of Richmond, Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Richmond. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Richmond is a small private not-for-profit school situated in University of Richmond, Virginia. It awarded 33 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

URichmond also took the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $9,131 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend URichmond.

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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of Richmond

#3

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Virginia is a large school located in Charlottesville, Virginia that handed out 2 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, University of Virginia has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus is $11,696 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Commonwealth University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k. Virginia Commonwealth University is located in Richmond, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 57 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

VCU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend VCU is $17,529 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University

#5

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k. George Mason University is located in Fairfax, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

GMU also made our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for GMU is $17,060 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low 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 full report on Area Studies at GMU

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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