2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Getting Aid” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

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.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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 Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Rocky Mountains Region (With Aid)

1

University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming

#2 in overall quality

$11,085 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 Getting Aid. University of Wyoming is a fairly large school located in Laramie, Wyoming that handed out 7 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

UW not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Wyoming is $11,085 for Rocky Mountains Region Astronomy students with aid.

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

$20,967 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 Getting Aid 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.

CU - Boulder not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $20,967 for rocky mountains region astronomy students with aid per year to attend University of Colorado Boulder.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. 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 full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at CU - Boulder

• Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (With Aid)

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.