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2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

4 Ranked Colleges
103 Degrees Awarded
$18,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor's in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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” 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.

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.

More Ways to Rank Astrophysics Schools

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” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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

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

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. UCLA is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 19 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees 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. The estimated yearly cost for UCLA is $14,279 for California Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students.

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 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astrophysics at UCLA

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 50 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also took the #3 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,329 for California Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students per year to attend UC Berkeley.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read full report on Astrophysics at University of California - Berkeley

#3

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Cruz. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of California - Santa Cruz is a public institution located in Santa Cruz, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Santa Cruz, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $18,186 for california bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students per year to attend University of California - Santa Cruz.

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%.

Full UC Santa Cruz Astrophysics Report

#4

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 #4 on our 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This small school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Caltech is $24,274 for california bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.

Read full report on Astrophysics at Caltech

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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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