2023 Most Focused Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in Virginia
3
Ranked Colleges
27
Degrees Awarded
$38,400
Avg Cost*
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Astronomy Major in Virginia” 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 Virginia, there were 27 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Astronomy Major in Virginia” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in astronomy and astrophysics. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their astronomy and astrophysics program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Astronomy Major in Virginia”.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Schools Highly Focused on Astronomy Major in Virginia
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Astronomy Major in Virginia”.
Top 3 Most Focused Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in Virginia
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Astronomy Major in Virginia list. University of Virginia - Main Campus is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 25 ’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Virginia Astronomy & Astrophysics Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hampton University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Astronomy Major in Virginia list. Hampton University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Hampton, Virginia. It awarded 1 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Hampton Astronomy & Astrophysics Report
Out of the 3 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Astronomy Major in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, George Mason University landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Fairfax, Virginia, and it awarded 1 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full George Mason University Astronomy & Astrophysics Report
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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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