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

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 the Rocky Mountains Region 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 the Rocky Mountains region, there were 108 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,700 and $19,530 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 81 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,111 and $23,874 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the astronomy and astrophysics program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to 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 Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

#1

University of Wyoming

Laramie, Wyoming

#2 in overall quality

$8,231 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wyoming. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Laramie, Wyoming, this fairly large public school awarded 11 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k list, UW has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UW is $8,231 for Rocky Mountains Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Wyoming Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#2

University of Colorado Boulder

Boulder, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$13,366 Average Net Price

$42,123 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Colorado Boulder landed the #2 spot on the list. Boulder, Colorado is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s astronomy degrees to 64 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k list, CU - Boulder has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $13,366 for Rocky Mountains Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Colorado Boulder.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Colorado Boulder

#3

Brigham Young University - Provo

Provo, Utah

#3 in overall quality

$8,834 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brigham Young University - Provo. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k. BYU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Provo, Utah. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

BYU also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $8,834 for Rocky Mountains Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Brigham Young University - Provo.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Brigham Young University - Provo

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

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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