2023 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $48-$75k) in the New England Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking.

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.

For this year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 New England Region For Those Making $48-$75k” 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. 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 in the New England Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for new england region astronomy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $48-$75k) in the New England Region

1

Williams College
Williamstown, Massachusetts

#1 in overall quality

$5,576 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 $48-$75k. Williams 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 $5,576 for new england region astronomy students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.

Full Williams Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

2

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts

#3 in overall quality

$16,667 Average Net Price

$47,385 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Massachusetts Amherst. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Massachusetts Amherst is a large public school situated in Amherst, Massachusetts. It awarded 20 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

UMass Amherst also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the New England Region” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend University of Massachusetts Amherst is $16,667 for New England Region Astronomy students whose families make $48-$75k.

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

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at UMass Amherst

3

Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts

#2 in overall quality

$18,458 Average Net Price

$55,473 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the New England Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Boston University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 18 degrees to qualified ’s astronomy students in 2020-2021.

Boston U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the New England Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Boston University is $18,458 for New England Region Astronomy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Boston U

• Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $48-$75k)

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.