2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region
6
Ranked Colleges
344
Degrees Awarded
$16,900
Avg Net Price*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Far Western US Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Astronomy & Astrophysics is the 219th most popular major in the country with 1,375 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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 Far Western US region, there were 344 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $19,734 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking analyzed 6 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.
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.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Far Western US Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region.
Top 6 Best Value 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 in the Far Western US Region. SDSU is a large school located in San Diego, California that handed out 15 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.
SDSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $13,845 for far western us region astronomy students per year to attend SDSU.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full San Diego State University Astronomy & Astrophysics Report
Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #2 spot on the list. Seattle, Washington is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s astronomy degrees to 51 students in 2020-2021.
UW Seattle also took the #4 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UW Seattle is $12,017 for Far Western US Region Astronomy students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, 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%.
Full University of Washington - Seattle Campus Astronomy & Astrophysics Report
Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #3 spot on the list. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 43 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $15,023 for Far Western US Region Astronomy students per year to attend UCLA.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of California - Los Angeles Astronomy & Astrophysics Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 65 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Berkeley also took the #1 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Berkeley is $16,032 for far western us region astronomy students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%.
Full UC Berkeley Astronomy & Astrophysics Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Cruz. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UC Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 76 ’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our far western us region astronomy students list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $17,930 for Far Western US Region Astronomy students per year to attend University of California - Santa Cruz.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Santa Cruz
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