2023 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $30-$48k) 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. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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 Rocky Mountains region, there were 85 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,212 and $22,422 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 2 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.

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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $30-$48k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

1

University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming

#2 in overall quality

$6,776 Average Net Price

$44,258 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wyoming. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k. UW is a fairly large school located in Laramie, Wyoming that handed out 7 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

UW also took the #2 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UW is $6,776 for rocky mountains region astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at UW

2

University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$13,901 Average Net Price

$48,893 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Colorado Boulder landed the #2 spot on the list. CU - Boulder is located in Boulder, Colorado and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 73 ’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k list, CU - Boulder has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $13,901 for Rocky Mountains Region Astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend CU - Boulder.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Colorado Boulder

• Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $30-$48k)

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.