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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy in Massachusetts

4 Ranked Colleges
40 Degrees Awarded
$25,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor's in Massachusetts

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 for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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

Across Massachusetts, there were 65 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 40 astronomy graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,887 and $24,387 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy Schools

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 for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts”.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts

The colleges and universities below are the best for massachusetts bachelor’s degree astronomical sciences students.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy in Massachusetts

#1

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, Massachusetts
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Massachusetts Amherst landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Amherst, Massachusetts, and it awarded 17 bachelors’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree astronomical sciences students list, UMass Amherst has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Astronomy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UMass Amherst is $22,501 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Astronomical Sciences students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astronomy at University of Massachusetts Amherst

#2

Williams College

Williamstown, Massachusetts
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Williams College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. Williams College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It awarded 2 bachelors’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Williams did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Astronomy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $19,480 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Astronomical Sciences students per year to attend Williams.

The 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 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astronomy at Williams College

#3

Smith College

Northampton, Massachusetts
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, Smith College landed the #3 spot on the list. Smith College is located in Northampton, Massachusetts and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s astronomical sciences degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree astronomical sciences students list, Smith has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Astronomy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $28,305 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Astronomical Sciences students per year to attend Smith.

The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Astronomy at Smith

#4

Boston University

Boston, Massachusetts
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Boston University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Astronomical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. Boston University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Boston, Massachusetts. It awarded 12 bachelors’s astronomical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree astronomical sciences students list, Boston U has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Astronomy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $30,259 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Astronomical Sciences students per year to attend Boston U.

With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Boston U Astronomy Report

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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

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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