2023 Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (Income $48-$75k) in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 California, there were 87 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 California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The science, tech & society 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 Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (Income $48-$75k) in California

1

Stanford University
Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$7,081 Average Net Price

$83,159 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 63 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Stanford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in California” list. It costs about $7,081 for california science, tech & society students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Stanford.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%.

Read full report on Science, Technology & Society at Stanford University

2

University of California - Davis
Davis, California

#2 in overall quality

$14,193 Average Net Price

$46,065 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Davis, California, this large public school awarded 13 degrees to qualified ’s science, tech and society students in 2020-2021.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UC Davis is $14,193 for California Science, Tech & Society students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

3

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
Pomona, California

#3 in overall quality

$15,958 Average Net Price

$45,201 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Pomona, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s science, tech and society degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california science, tech & society students whose families make $48-$75k list, Cal Poly Pomona has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,958 for california science, tech & society students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full Cal Poly Pomona Science, Technology & Society Report

• Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (Income $48-$75k)

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.