2023 Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in the New England Region 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. 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 Science, Tech & Society Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Science, Technology & Society is the 232nd most popular major in the country with 1,095 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, science, technology and society graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $41,177 and had an average of $22,529 in loans still to pay off.

Across the New England region, there were 101 science, technology and society graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in science, technology and society. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality science, technology and society programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

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

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 Science, Tech & Society Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k” 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. 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 Science, Tech & Society Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (Income $0-$30k) in the New England Region

1

Colby College
Waterville, Maine

#1 in overall quality

$2,648 Average Net Price

$45,726 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Colby College landed the #1 spot on the list. Colby is a private not-for-profit institution located in Waterville, Maine. The school has a small population, and it awarded 13 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our new england region science, tech & society students whose families make $0-$30k list, Colby has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in the New England Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Colby College is $2,648 for New England Region Science, Tech & Society students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% 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%. 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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Science, Technology & Society at Colby

2

Tufts University
Medford, Massachusetts

#2 in overall quality

$8,122 Average Net Price

$58,524 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Tufts University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Tufts is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Medford, Massachusetts. It awarded 8 ’s science, tech and society degrees in 2020-2021.

Tufts also made our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in the New England Region” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Tufts University is $8,122 for New England Region Science, Tech & Society students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Science, Technology & Society at Tufts University

3

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, Massachusetts

#3 in overall quality

$31,779 Average Net Price

$74,666 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k. WPI is a medium-sized school located in Worcester, Massachusetts that handed out 4 ’s science, tech and society degrees in 2020-2021.

WPI also took the #3 spot in our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in the New England Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute is $31,779 for New England Region Science, Tech & Society students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

Full Worcester Polytechnic Institute Science, Technology & Society Report

• Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (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.