2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics in the Southwest Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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

Across the Southwest region, there were 27 astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 19 astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,896 and $23,899 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree 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

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 in the Southwest Region” list to help you make the college 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics in the Southwest Region

#1

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

Norman, Oklahoma

#2 in overall quality

$21,145 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in Norman, Oklahoma, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students list, University of Oklahoma has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus is $21,145 for southwest region bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read more about Astrophysics at University of Oklahoma

#2

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico

#3 in overall quality

$14,446 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region list. Albuquerque, New Mexico is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s astrophysical sciences degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

UNM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of New Mexico - Main Campus is $14,446 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Astrophysical Sciences students.

Read full report on Astrophysics at UNM

#3

Baylor University

Waco, Texas

#1 in overall quality

$36,039 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Baylor University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Astrophysical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region list. Baylor University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Waco, Texas. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Baylor also took the #1 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $36,039 for southwest region bachelor’s degree astrophysical sciences students per year to attend Baylor.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Baylor Astrophysics Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astrophysics

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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