2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k)
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
With 365,980 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, liberal arts is the 2nd most popular major in the United States.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 25,169 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 296 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the liberal arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k)
Out of the 296 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Massachusetts Institute of Technology landed the #1 spot on the list. MIT is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, MIT has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for MIT is $4,535 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 98%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 12 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
UChicago also took the #3 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $2,712 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UChicago.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Out of the 296 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Johns Hopkins University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Johns Hopkins, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Johns Hopkins University is $3,526 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at Johns Hopkins University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Georgetown University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Georgetown is a fairly large school located in Washington, District of Columbia that handed out 24 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, Georgetown has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $5,248 for bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Georgetown University.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harvard University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Harvard is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It awarded 4 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
Harvard did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Harvard is $2,973 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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%.
With a ranking of #6, Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Wesleyan University is a small school located in Middletown, Connecticut that handed out 9 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
Wesleyan U also took the #18 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $3,967 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Wesleyan U.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
With a ranking of #7, The City College of New York did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. CCNY is a fairly large public school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 104 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for CCNY is $704 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at The City College of New York
Baruch College landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in New York, New York, this fairly large public school handed out 21 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Baruch is $1,858 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of South Florida - Main Campus ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of South Florida - Main Campus is a public institution located in Tampa, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 242 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
On top of its placing in this ranking, USF Tampa also did well on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for University of South Florida - Main Campus is $3,950 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Texas A & M University - Central Texas ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Texas A & M University - Central Texas is a small public school situated in Killeen, Texas. It awarded 52 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
Full Texas A & M University - Central Texas Liberal Arts Report
North Carolina State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #11. This large school is located in Raleigh, North Carolina, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
NC State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #16 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend North Carolina State University is $7,285 for bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Florida International University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. Florida International University is a large public school situated in Miami, Florida. It awarded 368 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend FIU is $5,002 for bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at Florida International University
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. IU Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 238 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
IU Bloomington excels when it comes to liberal studies quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend IU Bloomington is $4,969 for bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
California State University - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #14. California State University - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 180 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Cal State LA is $1,379 for bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%.
California State University - Stanislaus landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California State University - Stanislaus is located in Turlock, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 235 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
It costs about $3,410 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - Stanislaus.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at California State University - Stanislaus
University of Notre Dame came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Notre Dame is located in Notre Dame, Indiana and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 47 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
Notre Dame also took the #11 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Notre Dame is $12,498 for bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, 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.
With a ranking of #17, California State University - Fresno did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Fresno, California, this large public school awarded 485 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend California State University - Fresno is $3,264 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Liberal Arts at California State University - Fresno
Northern Kentucky University landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. NKU is a fairly large school located in Highland Heights, Kentucky that handed out 92 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Northern Kentucky University is $4,156 for bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at Northern Kentucky University
With a ranking of #19, California State University - Northridge did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Northridge, California, this large public school handed out 320 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend California State University - Northridge is $5,945 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
California State University - Dominguez Hills came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Carson, California, and it awarded 129 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $2,455 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Dominguez Hills Liberal Arts Report
With a ranking of #21, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Green Bay, Wisconsin is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to 97 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Green Bay is also in the top of our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for University of Wisconsin - Green Bay is $11,337 for bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
Full University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Liberal Arts Report
University of Richmond did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #22. University of Richmond is located in University of Richmond, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, URichmond is also in the top of our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. It costs about $9,112 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend URichmond.
The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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 impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
San Diego State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #23. San Diego State University is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 206 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for San Diego State University is $8,870 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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%.
California State University - Long Beach landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California State University - Long Beach is located in Long Beach, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 240 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
It costs about $6,364 for bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - Long Beach.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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%.
California State University - Fullerton landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Cal State Fullerton is located in Fullerton, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 125 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
It costs about $4,291 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cal State Fullerton.
The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Rest of the Best 45 in Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k
Not only did these schools make the top 45 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Southwest Region
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the New England Region
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
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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
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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