2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies in Virginia
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 Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
With 559,661 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, liberal arts general studies is the 1st most popular major in the United States. 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 Virginia, there were 14,701 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $24,856 and $15,588 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 2,389 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking analyzed 14 colleges that offered a degree in liberal arts general studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts general studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the liberal arts general studies 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.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Virginia” list to help you make the college decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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 Virginia
The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.
Top 14 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies in Virginia
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend James Madison University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. Harrisonburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 290 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at JMU, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for James Madison University is $22,169 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. This large school is located in Fairfax, Virginia, and it awarded 377 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at GMU, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for George Mason University is $21,048 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Mary Washington. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. UMW is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 129 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.
UMW also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend University of Mary Washington is $21,907 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.
The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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%.
Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Longwood University landed the #4 spot on the list. Longwood is a small school located in Farmville, Virginia that handed out 121 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
Longwood also took the #5 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Longwood University is $19,462 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Virginia State University is a small public school situated in Petersburg, Virginia. It awarded 23 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
Virginia State also took the #8 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $16,970 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend Virginia State University.
With a ranking of #6, Liberty University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Lynchburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 94 students in 2019-2020.
Liberty University also took the #10 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Liberty University is $28,903 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.
With a ranking of #7, Southern Virginia University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. SVU is a small school located in Buena Vista, Virginia that handed out 18 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
SVU also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #14. The yearly cost to attend SVU is $19,000 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.
Full Southern Virginia University Liberal Arts General Studies Report
Mary Baldwin University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Mary Baldwin University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Staunton, Virginia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 36 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Mary Baldwin also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #13. The yearly cost to attend Mary Baldwin University is $16,982 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.
Full Mary Baldwin University Liberal Arts General Studies Report
Bridgewater College landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Bridgewater is located in Bridgewater, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 16 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.
Bridgewater also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend Bridgewater is $17,929 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.
Eastern Mennonite University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Eastern Mennonite is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 18 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.
Eastern Mennonite also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for Eastern Mennonite is $23,763 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 General Studies at Eastern Mennonite University
Averett University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Located in Danville, Virginia, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 6 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.
AU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend AU is $23,516 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.
Marymount University landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. This small school is located in Arlington, Virginia, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
Marymount not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Marymount is $26,078 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal arts 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%.
Ferrum College landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. This small school is located in Ferrum, Virginia, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
Ferrum College also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend Ferrum College is $22,159 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.
Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Ferrum College
University of Richmond did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking, coming in at #14. URichmond is a small private not-for-profit school situated in University of Richmond, Virginia. It awarded 8 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
URichmond not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for URichmond is $25,838 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at URichmond
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Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia
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Liberal Arts General Studies students with family income $75-$110k in Virginia
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies in Virginia
Liberal Arts General Studies students in Virginia
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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