2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid
7
Ranked Colleges
307
Degrees Awarded
$20,200
Avg Net Price*
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 the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 6,966 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. 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 the Plains States region, there were 307 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,952 and $25,098 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies programs, but they also 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. 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 the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most 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 the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid.
Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in the Plains States Region (With Aid)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Missouri - Columbia. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Missouri - Columbia is located in Columbia, Missouri and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 70 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mizzou, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $16,559 for plains states region area studies students with aid per year to attend Mizzou.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Area Studies at Mizzou
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Duluth. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Minnesota - Duluth is a medium-sized public school situated in Duluth, Minnesota. It awarded 10 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UMN Duluth not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UMN Duluth is $18,505 for plains states region area studies students with aid.
The low undergrad 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 more about Area Studies at University of Minnesota - Duluth
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Iowa State University is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 16 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State University is $16,002 for Plains States Region Area Studies students with aid.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 Iowa State
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 30 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
Iowa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Iowa is $19,401 for plains states region area studies students with aid.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of Iowa Area Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 12 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UMN Twin Cities also made our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is $17,878 for Plains States Region Area Studies students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Area Studies at UMN Twin Cities
With a ranking of #6, St Olaf College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Northfield, Minnesota, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 28 degrees to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
St. Olaf also made our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend St Olaf College is $24,052 for Plains States Region Area Studies students with aid.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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
Carleton College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Northfield, Minnesota, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 15 degrees to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
Carleton also made our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Carleton College is $28,928 for plains states region area studies students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad 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 undergraduate students.
Read full report on Area Studies at Carleton
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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
- *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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