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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in California

5 Ranked Colleges
112 Degrees Awarded
$8,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Astronomy 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. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Astronomy & Astrophysics is the 222nd most popular major in the country with 1,268 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, astronomy and astrophysics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $27,700 and had an average of $21,346 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 153 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $14,817 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 112 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in astronomy and astrophysics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great astronomy and astrophysics programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the astronomy and astrophysics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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

Best Value Astronomy 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 astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & 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 Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. California Institute of Technology is located in Pasadena, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

Caltech also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $5,456 for California Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California Institute of Technology.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 Astronomy & Astrophysics at Caltech

#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 Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. 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.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCLA has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCLA is $8,553 for California Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at UCLA

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Astronomy 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. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 53 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Berkeley has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,392 for California Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Berkeley.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its 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%.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Berkeley

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. SDSU is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 3 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $8,870 for california bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%.

Full San Diego State University Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#5

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Cruz. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. University of California - Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Cruz, California. It awarded 28 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $10,872 for California Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k 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 student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz

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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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