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

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Natural Sciences is the 208th most popular major in the country with 2,214 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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 Plains States region, there were 163 natural sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $22,898 and $14,331 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree 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

The natural sciences school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 Natural Sciences Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k

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

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region

1

Kansas State University
Manhattan, Kansas

#1 in overall quality

$14,653 Average Net Price

$45,255 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Kansas State University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Manhattan, Kansas, and it awarded 84 ’s natural sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our plains states region natural sciences students whose families make $30-$48k list, K -State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Natural Sciences Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend K -State is $14,653 for plains states region natural sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Natural Sciences at Kansas State University

2

Missouri State University - Springfield
Springfield, Missouri

#3 in overall quality

$13,144 Average Net Price

$40,472 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Missouri State University - Springfield. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Springfield, Missouri, this large public school awarded 11 degrees to qualified ’s natural sciences students in 2020-2021.

Missouri State also took the #3 spot in our “Best Natural Sciences Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Missouri State University - Springfield is $13,144 for plains states region natural sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Missouri State Natural Sciences Report

3

College of Saint Benedict
Saint Joseph, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$17,510 Average Net Price

$40,995 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, College of Saint Benedict landed the #3 spot on the list. This small school is located in Saint Joseph, Minnesota, and it awarded 14 ’s natural sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our plains states region natural sciences students whose families make $30-$48k list, CSB has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Natural Sciences Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $17,510 for Plains States Region Natural Sciences students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend College of Saint Benedict.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full CSB 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.