2023 Best Value Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2020-2021, 2,214 people earned their degree in natural sciences, making the major the 345th most popular in the United States.

Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 52 natural sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great natural sciences programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the natural sciences program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Natural Sciences 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 Natural Sciences Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

1

Colorado State University - Fort Collins
Fort Collins, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$12,736 Average Net Price

$45,865 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado State University - Fort Collins. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Fort Collins, Colorado is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s natural sciences degrees to 27 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Colorado State, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Natural Sciences Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $12,736 for Rocky Mountains Region Natural Sciences students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Colorado State.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full Colorado State Natural Sciences Report

2

University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming

#2 in overall quality

$6,776 Average Net Price

$44,258 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wyoming. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Laramie, Wyoming, this fairly large public school awarded 6 degrees to qualified ’s natural sciences students in 2020-2021.

UW not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Natural Sciences Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $6,776 for Rocky Mountains Region Natural Sciences students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UW.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Wyoming Natural Sciences Report

• Best Value Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $30-$48k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Agsftw.