2023 Best Value Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2020-2021, 2,214 people earned their degree in natural sciences, making the major the 208th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, natural sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $25,745 and had an average of $18,648 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 338 natural sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $21,994 and $13,778 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality natural sciences programs that also have a lower cost than 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 natural sciences program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region natural sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region

1

University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska

#2 in overall quality

$6,880 Average Net Price

$45,077 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Alaska Fairbanks. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Fairbanks, Alaska is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s natural sciences degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.

UAF also made our “Best Natural Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend University of Alaska Fairbanks is $6,880 for Far Western US Region Natural Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full UAF Natural Sciences Report

2

Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$32,730 Average Net Price

$48,301 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Loyola Marymount University landed the #2 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 48 ’s natural sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our far western us region natural sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, Loyola Marymount has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Natural Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $32,730 for far western us region natural sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Loyola Marymount University.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Natural Sciences at Loyola Marymount

• Best Value Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $0-$30k)

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.