2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (Income $30-$48k) in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

Science, Technology & Society is the 225th most popular major in the country with 1,072 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, science, technology and society graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,000 and had an average of $27,321 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 60 science, technology and society graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,900 and $12,000 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 59 science, technology and society graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in science, technology and society. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great science, technology and society programs and cost less that 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 science, technology and society program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$1,145 Average Net Price

$55,964 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 44 bachelors’s science, tech and society degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Science, Technology & Society Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $1,145 for California Bachelor’s Degree Science, Tech & Society students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Stanford.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Science, Technology & Society at Stanford

#2

University of California - Davis

Davis, California

#2 in overall quality

$10,769 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. UC Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Science, Technology & Society Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $10,769 for California Bachelor’s Degree Science, Tech & Society students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Science, Technology & Society at University of California - Davis

#3

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona, California

#3 in overall quality

$9,630 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #3 spot on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is a public institution located in Pomona, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Science, Technology & Society Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $9,630 for California Bachelor’s Degree Science, Tech & Society students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Cal Poly Pomona.

The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read more about Science, Technology & Society at Cal Poly Pomona

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (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.

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