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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Minnesota (With Aid)

5 Ranked Colleges
85 Degrees Awarded
$21,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Minnesota For Those Getting Aid

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 85 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,526 and $26,035 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

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 for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for minnesota bachelor’s degree area studies students with aid.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Minnesota (With Aid)

#1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota
#3 in overall quality

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 for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Getting Aid list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UMN Twin Cities did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Minnesota” list. The yearly cost to attend UMN Twin Cities is $17,740 for Minnesota Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low 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%.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Duluth landed the #2 spot on the list. UMN Duluth is a fairly large school located in Duluth, Minnesota that handed out 4 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UMN Duluth also took the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Minnesota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMN Duluth is $17,067 for Minnesota Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 3.1% 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

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Minnesota State University - Mankato. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Getting Aid. Located in Mankato, Minnesota, this fairly large public school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

Minnesota State Mankato also took the #5 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Minnesota” ranking. It costs about $16,221 for minnesota bachelor’s degree area studies students with aid per year to attend Minnesota State Mankato.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Minnesota State Mankato Area Studies Report

#4

St Olaf College

Northfield, Minnesota

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend St Olaf College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Getting Aid. St. Olaf is a private not-for-profit institution located in Northfield, Minnesota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

St. Olaf did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Minnesota” list. It costs about $23,543 for Minnesota Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students with aid per year to attend St. Olaf.

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

Read full report on Area Studies at St. Olaf

#5

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 #5 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Getting Aid. Carleton College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Northfield, Minnesota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Carleton also took the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Minnesota” ranking. It costs about $31,133 for minnesota bachelor’s degree area studies students with aid per year to attend Carleton College.

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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Area Studies at Carleton

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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