2022 Best Value Forestry Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Forestry Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Forestry is the 187th most popular major in the country with 2,292 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, forestry graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $38,496 and had an average of $20,610 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southwest region, there were 153 forestry graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,800 and $20,192 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 89 forestry graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,896 and $23,899 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Forestry Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in forestry. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality forestry programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the forestry program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Forestry Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Forestry Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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 Forestry Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region bachelor’s degree forestry students.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Forestry in the Southwest Region

#1

Stephen F Austin State University

Nacogdoches, Texas

#2 in overall quality

$13,723 Average Net Price

$36,560 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Forestry Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Stephen F Austin State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Stephen F Austin State University is a fairly large public school situated in Nacogdoches, Texas. It awarded 28 bachelors’s forestry degrees in 2019-2020.

SFASU also made our “Best Forestry Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Stephen F Austin State University is $13,723 for southwest region bachelor’s degree forestry students.

Full Stephen F Austin State University Forestry Report

#2

New Mexico Highlands University

Las Vegas, New Mexico

#4 in overall quality

$9,661 Average Net Price

$30,771 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend New Mexico Highlands University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Forestry Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region list. Located in Las Vegas, New Mexico, this small public school awarded 9 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s forestry students in 2019-2020.

New Mexico Highlands University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Forestry Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $9,661 for southwest region bachelor’s degree forestry students per year to attend New Mexico Highlands University.

Read more about Forestry at New Mexico Highlands University

#3

Northern Arizona University

Flagstaff, Arizona

#3 in overall quality

$12,915 Average Net Price

$28,816 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Forestry Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Arizona University landed the #3 spot on the list. NAU is a public institution located in Flagstaff, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

NAU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Forestry Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $12,915 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Forestry students per year to attend Northern Arizona University.

Full Northern Arizona University Forestry Report

#4

Texas A&M University - College Station

College Station, Texas

#1 in overall quality

$19,057 Average Net Price

$35,060 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas A&M University - College Station. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Forestry Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region list. Located in College Station, Texas, this large public school handed out 23 degrees to qualified bachelors’s forestry students in 2019-2020.

Texas A&M College Station also took the #1 spot in our “Best Forestry Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Texas A&M University - College Station is $19,057 for southwest region bachelor’s degree forestry students.

The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Forestry at Texas A&M University - College Station

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Forestry

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 Bureau of Land Management.

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