2023 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Middle Atlantic Region
9
Ranked Colleges
284
Degrees Awarded
$27,400
Avg Net Price*
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 in the Middle Atlantic Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.
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 Middle Atlantic region, there were 284 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,362 and $27,000 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree 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.
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 Middle Atlantic Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 Middle Atlantic Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Middle Atlantic Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland - College Park. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. This large school is located in College Park, Maryland, and it awarded 45 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.
UMCP not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. It costs about $18,048 for Middle Atlantic Region Astronomy students per year to attend University of Maryland - College Park.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Maryland - College Park
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stony Brook University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Stony Brook University is a public institution located in Stony Brook, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
SUNY Stony Brook did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. The yearly cost to attend SUNY Stony Brook is $16,119 for Middle Atlantic Region Astronomy students.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at SUNY Stony Brook
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Cornell University landed the #3 spot on the list. Cornell is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Ithaca, New York. It awarded 12 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.
Cornell not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Cornell University is $37,042 for middle atlantic region 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. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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 full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Cornell University
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Rutgers University - New Brunswick landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and it awarded 13 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.
Rutgers New Brunswick also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $23,035 for Middle Atlantic Region Astronomy students per year to attend Rutgers University - New Brunswick.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%. 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 Rutgers New Brunswick
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s astronomy degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.
Pitt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is $27,058 for middle atlantic region astronomy students.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%.
Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus
Rochester Institute of Technology came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Rochester Institute of Technology is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Rochester, New York. It awarded 10 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.
RIT not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. The yearly cost to attend RIT is $34,822 for Middle Atlantic Region Astronomy students.
The low undergrad 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Full Rochester Institute of Technology Astronomy & Astrophysics Report
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a medium-sized school located in Troy, New York that handed out 1 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at RPI, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” ranking. It costs about $33,937 for Middle Atlantic Region Astronomy students per year to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, 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 91%.
Full Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Astronomy & Astrophysics Report
Johns Hopkins University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Baltimore, Maryland is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s astronomy degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.
Johns Hopkins did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Johns Hopkins is $23,428 for Middle Atlantic Region 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 undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Johns Hopkins University Astronomy & Astrophysics Report
Union College New York came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Union College is a small school located in Schenectady, New York that handed out 1 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.
Union College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Union College New York is $33,200 for Middle Atlantic Region Astronomy students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Union College
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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
- *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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