2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Studies in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking.

With 133,583 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, general studies is the 5th most popular major in the United States.

Across California, there were 354 general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 45 general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general studies programs that also have a lower cost than 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 general studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank General 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 General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Studies in California

#1

National University

La Jolla, California

#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend National University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. Located in La Jolla, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 22 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s general studies students in 2019-2020.

National University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 National University General Studies Report

#2

The Master's University and Seminary

Santa Clarita, California

#3 in overall quality

$28,833 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The Master’s University and Seminary. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This small school is located in Santa Clarita, California, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s general studies degrees in 2019-2020.

The Master’s University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend The Master’s University is $28,833 for California Bachelor’s Degree General Studies students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Studies at The Master’s University

#3

Holy Names University

Oakland, California

#2 in overall quality

$23,034 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Holy Names University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. Located in Oakland, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s general studies students in 2019-2020.

HNU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for HNU is $23,034 for California Bachelor’s Degree General Studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.5% 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 student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about General Studies at Holy Names University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Studies in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Studies

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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