2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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 Plains States region, there were 44 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $27,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most 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 Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k

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

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

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, Minnesota

#1 in overall quality

$12,911 Average Net Price

$50,445 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 23 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMN Twin Cities, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UMN Twin Cities is $12,911 for plains states region astronomy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at UMN Twin Cities

2

University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$18,026 Average Net Price

$50,430 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 ’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

Iowa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $18,026 for plains states region astronomy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Iowa.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Iowa Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

3

University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

#3 in overall quality

$18,586 Average Net Price

$50,693 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Kansas. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Lawrence, Kansas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s astronomy degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.

KU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Kansas is $18,586 for Plains States Region Astronomy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% 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 KU

• 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.