2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Far Western US Region
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region” ranking.
Astronomy & Astrophysics is the 222nd most popular major in the country with 1,268 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, astronomy and astrophysics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $27,700 and had an average of $21,346 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Far Western US region, there were 238 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $14,817 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 168 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region.
Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Far Western US Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.
SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for San Diego State University is $14,788 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Hawaii at Manoa. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region. Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, this fairly large public school awarded 10 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.
UH Manoa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Hawaii at Manoa is $15,030 for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. UW Seattle is a large public school situated in Seattle, Washington. It awarded 38 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW Seattle, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $13,297 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students per year to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 19 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.
UCLA also took the #2 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $14,279 for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students per year to attend UCLA.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #5 spot on the list. University of California - Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Cruz, California. It awarded 28 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Santa Cruz is $18,186 for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Santa Cruz
With a ranking of #6, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 53 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $15,329 for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Berkeley
California Institute of Technology ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Pasadena, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 8 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.
Caltech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $24,274 for far western us region bachelor’s degree astronomy students per year to attend California Institute of Technology.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region
Astronomy & Astrophysics students with family income $48-$75k in the Far Western US Region
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $75-$110k) in the Far Western US Region
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Far Western US Region
Astronomy & Astrophysics students in the Far Western US Region
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.
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