2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region 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. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2020-2021, 1,375 people earned their degree in astronomy and astrophysics, making the major the 219th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, astronomy and astrophysics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,221 and had an average of $24,484 in loans still to pay off.

Across the New England region, there were 119 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in astronomy and astrophysics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent astronomy and astrophysics programs, but they also 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for new england region astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in the New England Region

1

Williams College
Williamstown, Massachusetts

#1 in overall quality

$1,451 Average Net Price

$51,114 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Williams College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Williams College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It awarded 5 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

Williams did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the New England Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Williams is $1,451 for new england region astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at Williams

2

Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts

#2 in overall quality

$12,982 Average Net Price

$55,473 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Boston University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 18 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

Boston U also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the New England Region” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Boston University is $12,982 for new england region astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full Boston U Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

3

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts

#3 in overall quality

$12,033 Average Net Price

$47,385 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Massachusetts Amherst. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Amherst, Massachusetts, and it awarded 20 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

UMass Amherst not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the New England Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UMass Amherst is $12,033 for new england region astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Best Value 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.