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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

5 Ranked Colleges
451 Degrees Awarded
$13,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor's in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

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 Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 559,661 liberal arts / sciences and humanities students received their degree, making the major the 3rd most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, liberal arts / sciences and humanities 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 Iowa, there were 6,129 liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,768 and $15,875 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 451 liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in liberal arts / sciences and humanities. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the liberal arts / sciences and humanities program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Ames, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 80 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State is $10,054 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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 / Sciences & Humanities at Iowa State University

#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and it awarded 76 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNI, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Northern Iowa is $10,757 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UNI Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, this large public school awarded 190 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.

Iowa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Iowa is $12,975 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at University of Iowa

#4

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Grand View University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. This small school is located in Des Moines, Iowa, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students whose families make $0-$30k list, Grand View University has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Grand View University is $18,481 for iowa bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Grand View University

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Graceland University - Lamoni landed the #5 spot on the list. Lamoni, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students whose families make $0-$30k list, Graceland Lamoni has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $15,015 for iowa bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Graceland Lamoni.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Graceland Lamoni

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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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