2023 Best Vallue Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making Over $110k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Vallue Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making Over $110k” 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 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 Vallue Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making Over $110k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered 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.

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.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools

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 Vallue Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making Over $110k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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.

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Best Vallue Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making Over $110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Vallue Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making Over $110k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income Over $110k) in the Plains States Region

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, Minnesota

#1 in overall quality

$17,878 Average Net Price

$50,445 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Vallue Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making Over $110k list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s astronomy degrees to 23 students in 2020-2021.

UMN Twin Cities not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $17,878 for Plains States Region Astronomy students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2

University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$19,401 Average Net Price

$50,430 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Vallue Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. Iowa is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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 $19,401 for plains states region astronomy students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend Iowa.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at Iowa

3

University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

#3 in overall quality

$20,257 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 Vallue Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making Over $110k 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.

In addition to being on our plains states region astronomy students whose families make more than $110k list, KU has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $20,257 for Plains States Region Astronomy students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend KU.

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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at KU

• Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income Over $110k)

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.