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2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region

8 Ranked Colleges
98 Degrees Awarded
$19,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor's in the Southeast Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 Southeast region, there were 146 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 98 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,277 and $25,415 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region” ranking looked at 8 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.

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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools

The astronomy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region”.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for southeast region bachelor’s degree astronomy students.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Southeast Region

#1

University of Georgia

Athens, Georgia
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Georgia landed the #1 spot on the list. Athens, Georgia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s astronomy degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

UGA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. It costs about $13,649 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students per year to attend University of Georgia.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at UGA

#2

Valdosta State University

Valdosta, Georgia
#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Valdosta State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region. Valdosta State University is located in Valdosta, Georgia and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at VSU, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Valdosta State University is $13,969 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at VSU

#3

University of Florida

Gainesville, Florida
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Florida landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Florida is a large school located in Gainesville, Florida that handed out 21 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UF, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. It costs about $6,302 for southeast region bachelor’s degree astronomy students per year to attend UF.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UF Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Daytona Beach, Florida, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 11 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach is $34,296 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#5

College of Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina
#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend College of Charleston. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. College of Charleston is a public institution located in Charleston, South Carolina. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

C of C did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The yearly cost to attend College of Charleston is $19,000 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at College of Charleston

#6

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, George Mason University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. George Mason University is located in Fairfax, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

GMU also took the #6 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for George Mason University is $21,048 for southeast region bachelor’s degree astronomy students.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full GMU Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#7

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia
#2 in overall quality

University of Virginia - Main Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in Charlottesville, Virginia, this large public school handed out 16 degrees to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

University of Virginia also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for University of Virginia is $20,397 for southeast region bachelor’s degree astronomy students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 University of Virginia - Main Campus

#8

Emory University

Atlanta, Georgia
#5 in overall quality

Emory University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. Atlanta, Georgia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s astronomy degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

Emory also took the #5 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Emory University is $23,734 for southeast region bachelor’s degree astronomy students.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Emory University

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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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