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2022 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in Minnesota

5 Ranked Colleges
90 Degrees Awarded
$10,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota 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 Minnesota, there were 90 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,800 and $20,950 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in area studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality area studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the area studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 Minnesota For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for minnesota area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 5 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in Minnesota

#1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $30-$48k list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our minnesota area studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, UMN Twin Cities has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Minnesota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMN Twin Cities is $8,418 for Minnesota Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, 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 UMN Twin Cities

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Duluth. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $30-$48k list. UMN Duluth is a fairly large school located in Duluth, Minnesota that handed out 4 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UMN Duluth did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in Minnesota” list. It costs about $7,992 for minnesota area studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Minnesota - Duluth.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Minnesota - Duluth Area Studies Report

#3

St Olaf College

Northfield, Minnesota

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, St Olaf College landed the #3 spot on the list. St Olaf College is located in Northfield, Minnesota and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our minnesota area studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, St. Olaf has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Minnesota” ranking. It costs about $12,276 for Minnesota Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend St. Olaf.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Full St. Olaf Area Studies Report

#4

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 #4 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Minnesota For Those Making $30-$48k. 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 21 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Carleton, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Minnesota” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Carleton is $9,358 for Minnesota Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 impressive 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full Carleton Area Studies Report

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 $30-$48k list. Mankato, Minnesota is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Minnesota State Mankato, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Minnesota” ranking. It costs about $11,781 for minnesota area studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Minnesota State University - Mankato.

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 full report on Area Studies at Minnesota State 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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