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2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region

68 Ranked Colleges
7,284 Degrees Awarded
$14,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 559,661 liberal arts general studies students received their degree, making the major the 1st most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, liberal arts general studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 141,804 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,459 and $16,691 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 7,284 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region” ranking looked at 68 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great liberal arts general studies programs and 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 liberal arts general studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts General Studies Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region” list to help you make the college decision.

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. 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 Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies in the Far Western US Region

#1

Brandman University

Irvine, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brandman University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region. Brandman is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 170 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Brandman did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $21,604 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend Brandman University.

Full Brandman University Liberal Arts General Studies Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brigham Young University - Hawaii. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Brigham Young University - Hawaii is a small school located in Laie, Hawaii that handed out 6 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend BYU - H is $14,051 for far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.

Full Brigham Young University - Hawaii Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#3

National University

La Jolla, California
#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend National University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Located in La Jolla, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 22 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

National University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” 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%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at National University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. CSUN is a large school located in Northridge, California that handed out 320 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students list, CSUN has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Northridge is $8,414 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

The low student loan default rate of 2.0% 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 full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at California State University - Northridge

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Monterey Bay. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region. CSUMB is a medium-sized school located in Seaside, California that handed out 282 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUMB also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #20. The yearly cost to attend CSUMB is $12,212 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

The low student loan default rate of 5.0% 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 CSUMB Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#6

Thomas Aquinas College

Santa Paula, California

Thomas Aquinas College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Santa Paula, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 95 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

TAC also took the #7 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $25,526 for far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend Thomas Aquinas College.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Thomas Aquinas College

California State University - Fresno landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. This large school is located in Fresno, California, and it awarded 485 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $5,464 for far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.

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%.

Full California State University - Fresno Liberal Arts General Studies Report

California State University - Long Beach came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 240 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #17 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Long Beach is $9,622 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at California State University - Long Beach

#10

Antioch University - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

With a ranking of #10, Antioch University - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Antioch University - Santa Barbara is a small school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 32 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 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 Liberal Arts General Studies at Antioch University - Santa Barbara

With a ranking of #11, California State University - Stanislaus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. California State University - Stanislaus is a fairly large public school situated in Turlock, California. It awarded 235 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stan State, the school also landed the #22 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Stanislaus is $6,019 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

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 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Stan State Liberal Arts General Studies Report

With a ranking of #12, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 108 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $21,595 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

#13

California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino, California

California State University - San Bernardino came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. CSUSB is a public institution located in San Bernardino, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 315 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $7,342 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend CSUSB.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at CSUSB

#14

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, California

Sonoma State University landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. Sonoma State University is a public institution located in Rohnert Park, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 148 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SSU also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #19. It costs about $17,478 for far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend Sonoma State University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Sonoma State University

California State University - San Marcos landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. California State University - San Marcos is a public institution located in San Marcos, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 185 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students list, CSUSM has also earned the #25 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for CSUSM is $13,399 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at California State University - San Marcos

California State University - Chico came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. California State University - Chico is a fairly large public school situated in Chico, California. It awarded 210 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Chico is $15,017 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Chico State

California State University - East Bay ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. California State University - East Bay is a fairly large public school situated in Hayward, California. It awarded 95 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - East Bay is $11,116 for far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Cal State East Bay

#18

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. SFSU is a large school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 125 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students list, SFSU has also earned the #24 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $15,113 for far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend San Francisco State University.

Full SFSU Liberal Arts General Studies Report

University of Nevada - Reno came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. University of Nevada - Reno is a large school located in Reno, Nevada that handed out 47 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

UNR not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #18 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Nevada - Reno is $15,081 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

Full UNR Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#20

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #20. SDSU is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 214 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

SDSU also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #13. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $14,788 for far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at SDSU

California State University - Channel Islands did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #21. Camarillo, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 126 students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Channel Islands is $13,558 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at California State University - Channel Islands

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #22. Pomona, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 130 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $12,734 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend Cal Poly Pomona.

The low 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#23

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington

Washington State University landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. Washington State University is a large school located in Pullman, Washington that handed out 115 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Wazzu not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #15 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $16,358 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend Washington State University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Washington State University

California State University - Sacramento landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. Sac State is a large public school situated in Sacramento, California. It awarded 189 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Sac State is $9,979 for far western us region bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.

The low 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%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Sac State

#25

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

San Jose State University landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. San Jose State is a large school located in San Jose, California that handed out 56 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #23 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State is $14,928 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, 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 86%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at San Jose State University

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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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