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2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

4 Ranked Colleges
103 Degrees Awarded
$8,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor's in California 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. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 383 people earned their degree in astrophysics, making the major the 671st most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 114 astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 103 astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in astrophysics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent astrophysics 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 astrophysics program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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 Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Pasadena, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s astrophysical sciences students in 2019-2020.

Caltech also took the #1 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California Institute of Technology is $5,456 for california bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Astrophysics at California Institute of Technology

#2

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school awarded 19 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astrophysical sciences students in 2019-2020.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $8,553 for california bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Los Angeles.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Astrophysics at University of California - Los Angeles

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 50 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $8,392 for california bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UC Berkeley.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UC Berkeley Astrophysics Report

#4

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #4 spot on the list. UC Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 28 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees to qualified students.

UC Santa Cruz also made our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $10,872 for California Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Santa Cruz.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 more about Astrophysics at University of California - Santa Cruz

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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