2023 Best Value Colleges for Optometry (With Aid)
13
Ranked Colleges
1,822
Degrees Awarded
$18,800
Avg Net Price*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 1,822 people earned their degree in optometry, making the major the 302nd most popular in the United States.
For this year’s “Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in optometry. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality optometry programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the optometry program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Optometry 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 Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid
The colleges and universities below are the best for optometry students with aid.
Top 13 Best Value Colleges for Optometry (With Aid)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Indiana University - Bloomington. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid. IU Bloomington is a large public school situated in Bloomington, Indiana. It awarded 84 ’s optometry degrees in 2020-2021.
IU Bloomington also made our “Best Optometry Schools” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $14,619 for optometry students with aid per year to attend Indiana University - Bloomington.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Read full report on Optometry at Indiana University - Bloomington
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Missouri - St Louis. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid. University of Missouri - St Louis is a fairly large public school situated in Saint Louis, Missouri. It awarded 47 ’s optometry degrees in 2020-2021.
UMSL did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #19 on our “Best Optometry Schools” list. It costs about $12,232 for optometry students with aid per year to attend UMSL.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.6% 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%.
Full University of Missouri - St Louis Optometry Report
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the list. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 83 ’s optometry degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Optometry Schools” list. It costs about $16,032 for Optometry students with aid per year to attend UC Berkeley.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Berkeley Optometry Report
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Houston landed the #4 spot on the list. UH is a large public school situated in Houston, Texas. It awarded 105 ’s optometry degrees in 2020-2021.
UH also made our “Best Optometry Schools” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $13,721 for Optometry students with aid per year to attend UH.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%.
Full University of Houston Optometry Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ferris State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid list. Ferris is a fairly large public school situated in Big Rapids, Michigan. It awarded 37 ’s optometry degrees in 2020-2021.
Ferris also made our “Best Optometry Schools” list, coming in at #16. The estimated yearly cost for Ferris State University is $12,213 for optometry students with aid.
Read more about Optometry at Ferris State University
With a ranking of #6, Northeastern State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid list. Northeastern State University is located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 28 ’s optometry degrees to qualified students.
NSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Optometry Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for NSU is $10,094 for optometry students with aid.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.
Full Northeastern State University Optometry Report
With a ranking of #7, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Columbus, Ohio, this large public school handed out 65 diplomas to qualified ’s optometry students in 2020-2021.
Ohio State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Optometry Schools” list. It costs about $16,845 for Optometry students with aid per year to attend Ohio State.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Ohio State University - Main Campus Optometry Report
With a ranking of #8, University of Alabama at Birmingham did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid list. UAB is located in Birmingham, Alabama and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 50 ’s optometry degrees to qualified students.
UAB also took the #14 spot in our “Best Optometry Schools” ranking. It costs about $16,530 for optometry students with aid per year to attend University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Optometry at UAB
University of the Incarnate Word landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid ranking. UIW is a medium-sized school located in San Antonio, Texas that handed out 64 ’s optometry degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIW, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Optometry Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIW is $23,126 for Optometry students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Optometry at UIW
With a ranking of #10, Pacific University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid list. Pacific is a private not-for-profit institution located in Forest Grove, Oregon. The school has a small population, and it awarded 88 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our optometry students with aid list, Pacific has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Optometry Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Pacific University is $32,045 for optometry students with aid.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%.
Read more about Optometry at Pacific University
Nova Southeastern University landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 107 degrees to qualified ’s optometry students in 2020-2021.
NUS Florida also took the #15 spot in our “Best Optometry Schools” ranking. It costs about $25,833 for optometry students with aid per year to attend NUS Florida.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full NUS Florida Optometry Report
With a ranking of #12, University of Pikeville did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid list. This small school is located in Pikeville, Kentucky, and it awarded 55 ’s optometry degrees in 2020-2021.
UPIKE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #21 on our “Best Optometry Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend UPIKE is $13,785 for optometry students with aid.
Read full report on Optometry at University of Pikeville
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Optometry Schools For Those Getting Aid list. MCPHS University is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 53 ’s optometry degrees to qualified students.
MCPHS University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best Optometry Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is $37,807 for Optometry students with aid.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Optometry at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
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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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