2023 Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Astronomy is the 479th most popular major in the country with 765 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across the Southeast region, there were 67 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in astronomy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent astronomy 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 astronomy program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. 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 Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region

1

University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

#2 in overall quality

$65 Average Net Price

$51,332 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Florida. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Gainesville, Florida, this large public school awarded 28 degrees to qualified ’s astronomical sciences students in 2020-2021.

UF also took the #2 spot in our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Florida is $65 for Southeast Region Astronomical Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Read full report on Astronomy at UF

2

University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$12,476 Average Net Price

$58,809 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Virginia is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 25 ’s astronomical sciences degrees to qualified students.

University of Virginia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Southeast Region” list. It costs about $12,476 for Southeast Region Astronomical Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Virginia.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%.

Read full report on Astronomy at University of Virginia - Main Campus

3

University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

#3 in overall quality

$8,303 Average Net Price

$46,768 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Georgia. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Athens, Georgia, and it awarded 8 ’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our southeast region astronomical sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, UGA has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Georgia is $8,303 for Southeast Region Astronomical Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Astronomy at University of Georgia

• Best Value Colleges for Astronomy (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.