2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Astrophysics is the 671st most popular major in the country with 383 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 294 astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s” ranking, we looked at 20 colleges that offer a degree in astrophysics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great astrophysics programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the astrophysics program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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More Ways to Rank Astrophysics 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 Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s” list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s.
Top 20 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s. UMN Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMN Twin Cities, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is $17,740 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.
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 school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Astrophysics Report
Out of the 20 schools in the Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus landed the #2 spot on the list. Norman, Oklahoma is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.
University of Oklahoma not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Oklahoma is $21,145 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Astrophysics at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Cincinnati - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s. UC is a large public school situated in Cincinnati, Ohio. It awarded 9 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
UC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $21,843 for Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students per year to attend University of Cincinnati - Main Campus.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.
Out of the 20 schools in the Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it awarded 40 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
UW - Madison not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $17,708 for Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students per year to attend UW - Madison.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, 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 95%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s list. OHIO Athens is a public institution located in Athens, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at OHIO Athens, the school also landed the #19 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $22,906 for Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students per year to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus.
Rutgers University - New Brunswick landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. Rutgers New Brunswick is a public institution located in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Rutgers New Brunswick did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Rutgers New Brunswick is $21,654 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.
The low student loan default rate of 3.6% 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of New Mexico - Main Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. UNM is a large public school situated in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It awarded 5 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
UNM also made our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #20. The estimated yearly cost for UNM is $14,446 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.
Read more about Astrophysics at University of New Mexico - Main Campus
Michigan State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #8. Michigan State is a large school located in East Lansing, Michigan that handed out 16 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
Michigan State also took the #12 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Michigan State University is $19,173 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
With a ranking of #9, University of Hawaii at Manoa did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s list. UH Manoa is a public institution located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UH Manoa also made our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #18. It costs about $15,030 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students per year to attend UH Manoa.
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%.
University of California - Los Angeles ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s list. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 19 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Los Angeles is $14,279 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. 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 ranking of #11, Princeton University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s list. Princeton is a medium-sized school located in Princeton, New Jersey that handed out 12 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students list, Princeton has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Princeton is $11,317 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%.
University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. Located in Santa Cruz, California, this fairly large public school awarded 28 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astrophysical sciences students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Santa Cruz is $18,186 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.
With a ranking of #13, Baylor University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s list. Baylor University is a fairly large school located in Waco, Texas that handed out 2 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
Baylor also took the #15 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Baylor University is $36,039 for Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.
Williams College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s list. Williams is a small school located in Williamstown, Massachusetts that handed out 4 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
Williams not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Williams College is $19,480 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.
The low student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
With a ranking of #15, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s list. University of California - Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 50 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees to qualified students.
UC Berkeley also made our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $15,329 for Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students.
The school has an impressive 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 96%.
Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. Illinois Tech is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois Tech, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $22,831 for bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students per year to attend Illinois Tech.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. 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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Astrophysics at Illinois Institute of Technology
With a ranking of #17, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s list. Located in New York, New York, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 10 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astrophysical sciences students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students list, Columbia has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Columbia University in the City of New York is $23,306 for Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 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 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Columbia University in the City of New York Astrophysics Report
California Institute of Technology landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. This small school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
Caltech also made our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Caltech is $24,274 for Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about Astrophysics at California Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. Carnegie Mellon University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 2 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students list, Carnegie Mellon has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Carnegie Mellon University is $34,508 for Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 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 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Wellesley College landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. Wellesley is a small school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts that handed out 2 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
Wellesley also made our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $22,087 for Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students per year to attend Wellesley College.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
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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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