2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina
8
Ranked Colleges
1,321
Degrees Awarded
$16,000
Avg Net Price*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Natural Resources & Conservation is the 25th most popular major in the country with 30,503 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, natural resources and conservation graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $35,158 and had an average of $23,267 in loans still to pay off.
Across North Carolina, there were 1,321 natural resources and conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,893 and $21,587 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural resources and conservation. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent natural resources and conservation programs, but they also 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 natural resources and conservation program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The natural resources & conservation 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 Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina”.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation in North Carolina
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #1 spot on the list. UNC Chapel Hill is a public institution located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The school has a large population, and it awarded 154 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our north carolina natural resources & conservation students list, UNC Chapel Hill has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $12,469 for north carolina natural resources & conservation students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend North Carolina State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina. NC State is a large public school situated in Raleigh, North Carolina. It awarded 333 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
NC State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina” list. It costs about $16,411 for North Carolina Natural Resources & Conservation students per year to attend North Carolina State University.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at North Carolina State University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Wilmington. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina list. UNCW is a public institution located in Wilmington, North Carolina. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 120 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UNCW also made our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Carolina at Wilmington is $19,136 for North Carolina Natural Resources & Conservation students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at UNCW
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Appalachian State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina list. Appalachian State University is located in Boone, North Carolina and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 123 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.
Appalachian State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina” list. The estimated yearly cost for Appalachian State is $13,989 for north carolina natural resources & conservation students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Appalachian State University
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Haywood Community College landed the #5 spot on the list. This small school is located in Clyde, North Carolina, and it awarded 45 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
Haywood Community College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina” list. The estimated yearly cost for Haywood Community College is $6,940 for north carolina natural resources & conservation students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Haywood Community College Natural Resources & Conservation Report
University of North Carolina at Asheville did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina ranking, coming in at #6. UNCA is a public institution located in Asheville, North Carolina. The school has a small population, and it awarded 60 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNCA, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Carolina at Asheville is $12,551 for North Carolina Natural Resources & Conservation students.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at UNCA
Western Carolina University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina list. WCU is a fairly large school located in Cullowhee, North Carolina that handed out 41 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
WCU also took the #8 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for WCU is $13,924 for north carolina natural resources & conservation students.
Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at Western Carolina University
With a ranking of #8, Duke University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina list. Duke University is located in Durham, North Carolina and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 195 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our north carolina natural resources & conservation students list, Duke has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in North Carolina” ranking. It costs about $32,459 for North Carolina Natural Resources & Conservation students per year to attend Duke University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.3% 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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Duke University
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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
- *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 Lynn Betts.
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