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2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k

6 Ranked Colleges
65 Degrees Awarded
$7,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor's in Massachusetts 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. 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 Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Massachusetts, there were 117 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $25,857 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 65 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,887 and $24,387 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 6 colleges that offer a degree in astronomy and astrophysics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality astronomy and astrophysics programs that also have a lower cost than 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 astronomy and astrophysics program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools

The astronomy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 6 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in Massachusetts

#1

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harvard University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k list. Cambridge, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s astronomy degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

Harvard did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. The estimated yearly cost for Harvard is $2,973 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 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.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at Harvard

#2

Williams College

Williamstown, Massachusetts
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Williams College. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

Williams did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $2,498 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Williams.

With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its 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 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.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Williams

#3

Wellesley College

Wellesley, Massachusetts
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Wellesley College landed the #3 spot on the list. Wellesley, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s astronomy degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

Wellesley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. The estimated yearly cost for Wellesley is $8,785 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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.

Full Wellesley Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#4

Smith College

Northampton, Massachusetts
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Smith College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k. Smith College is a small school located in Northampton, Massachusetts that handed out 7 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Smith has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Smith College is $6,075 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Smith Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#5

Boston University

Boston, Massachusetts
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Boston University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k. Boston U is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 12 bachelors’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Boston U has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Boston U is $12,903 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at Boston University

#6

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts Amherst did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Amherst, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s astronomy degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k list, UMass Amherst has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Massachusetts Amherst is $13,137 for massachusetts 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%.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Massachusetts Amherst

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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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