2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies
4
Ranked Colleges
177
Degrees Awarded
$38,800
Avg Cost*
With all of the options veterans 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 “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies” 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 Virginia, there were 177 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,514 and $21,358 respectively.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies” ranking looked at 4 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 a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the area studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran satisfaction. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies” 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.
Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies”.
Top 4 Best Area Studies Colleges for Veterans in Virginia
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend William & Mary. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies. William & Mary is a medium-sized school located in Williamsburg, Virginia that handed out 63 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
William & Mary did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 8,939 students enrolled at William & Mary, 531 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 349 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $19,978. To help with additional expenses, 5 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Full William & Mary Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Commonwealth University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies list. VCU is located in Richmond, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 60 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
VCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, Virginia Commonwealth University supports 29,070 students, and 1 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 2 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,085. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Virginia Commonwealth University offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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…
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies. Charlottesville, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.
University of Virginia also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 25,628 students enrolled at University of Virginia - Main Campus, 3 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Virginia]](/colleges/university-of-virginia-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Richmond. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies. University of Richmond, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 19 students in 2020-2021.
URichmond did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 4,056 students enrolled at University of Richmond, 51 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 19 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $5,556. To help with additional expenses, 15 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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 [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Richmond Veteran Student Life Report
Focus on a Specific Degree Level
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Similar Major
Switch to a More Focused Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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
college factual
