2023 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 765 people earned their degree in astronomy, making the major the 479th most popular in the United States.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 123 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered 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.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

The astronomical sciences 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 Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region 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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k

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

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

1

University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Seattle, Washington

#1 in overall quality

$8,393 Average Net Price

$57,782 Average Early-Career Earnings

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 in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a public institution located in Seattle, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 51 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW Seattle, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UW Seattle is $8,393 for far western us region astronomical sciences 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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astronomy at UW Seattle

2

University of California - Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California

#2 in overall quality

$15,567 Average Net Price

$35,777 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Cruz. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k. Santa Cruz, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s astronomical sciences degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Santa Cruz, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Cruz is $15,567 for Far Western US Region Astronomical Sciences students whose families make $48-$75k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Astronomy at University of California - Santa Cruz

3

San Diego State University
San Diego, California

#3 in overall quality

$14,698 Average Net Price

$45,826 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s astronomical sciences degrees to 15 students in 2020-2021.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for SDSU is $14,698 for Far Western US Region Astronomical Sciences students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Astronomy at SDSU

• Best Value 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.