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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

7 Ranked Colleges
168 Degrees Awarded
$9,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 Far Western US region, there were 238 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $14,817 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 168 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered 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.

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.

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 Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Pasadena, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k list, Caltech has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Caltech is $3,756 for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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. 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 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 the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k. University of California - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 19 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Los Angeles is $9,254 for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Seattle, Washington is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s astronomy degrees to 38 students in 2019-2020.

UW Seattle not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UW Seattle is $7,467 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UW Seattle Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 53 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also took the #3 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $9,130 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

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

#5

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #5 spot on the list. San Diego State University is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s 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 the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $10,594 for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend San Diego State University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full San Diego State University Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#6

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#4 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Santa Cruz, California, this fairly large public school handed out 28 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students 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 the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $11,793 for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UC Santa Cruz.

The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of California - Santa Cruz Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#7 in overall quality

University of Hawaii at Manoa landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. University of Hawaii at Manoa is a fairly large public school situated in Honolulu, Hawaii. It awarded 10 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k list, UH Manoa has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UH Manoa is $12,540 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Hawaii at Manoa

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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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