2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Area Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Area Studies is the 115th most popular major in the country with 6,966 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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 District of Columbia, there were 206 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $55,019 and $26,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 2 colleges that offered 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.

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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 District of Columbia 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. 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 District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for district of columbia area studies students with aid.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in District of Columbia (With Aid)

1

Georgetown University
Washington, District of Columbia

#1 in overall quality

$32,108 Average Net Price

$69,885 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Georgetown University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 132 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.

Georgetown also made our “Best Area Studies Schools in District of Columbia” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Georgetown is $32,108 for district of columbia area studies students with aid.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. 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 Georgetown University

2

George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia

#2 in overall quality

$32,563 Average Net Price

$65,148 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Washington University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 41 students in 2020-2021.

GWU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in District of Columbia” list. The yearly cost to attend GWU is $32,563 for District of Columbia Area Studies students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full George Washington University Area Studies Report

• Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (With Aid)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Karl Udo Gerth.