2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Astronomy is the 498th most popular major in the country with 723 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 101 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 51 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in astronomy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great astronomy 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 astronomy 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.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy Schools

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 Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomical sciences students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

University of Washington - Seattle Campus

Seattle, Washington

#2 in overall quality

$9,694 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is located in Seattle, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 38 bachelors’s astronomical sciences degrees to qualified students.

UW Seattle not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Astronomy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $9,694 for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomical sciences students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UW Seattle.

The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Astronomy at UW Seattle

#2

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

#1 in overall quality

$14,730 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k. SDSU is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 bachelors’s astronomical sciences degrees to qualified students.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Astronomy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $14,730 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomical Sciences students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend San Diego State University.

The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Astronomy at SDSU

#3

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Honolulu, Hawaii

#3 in overall quality

$15,372 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Hawaii at Manoa. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k. University of Hawaii at Manoa is a public institution located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UH Manoa, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Astronomy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UH Manoa is $15,372 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomical Sciences students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astronomy at University of Hawaii at Manoa

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy (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.

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