2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking.

General Physical Sciences is the 135th most popular major in the country with 4,159 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $25,050 and had an average of $13,137 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 389 general physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 25 general physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in general physical sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general physical sciences 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 general physical sciences program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The physical science 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 Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree physical science students.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Physical Sciences in California

#1

California State University - Fresno

Fresno, California

#2 in overall quality

$5,464 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Fresno, California, this large public school awarded 16 degrees to qualified bachelors’s physical science students in 2019-2020.

Fresno State also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $5,464 for California Bachelor’s Degree Physical Science 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read full report on General Physical Sciences at California State University - Fresno

#2

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

#1 in overall quality

$18,186 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Cruz. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of California - Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s physical science degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Santa Cruz, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Santa Cruz is $18,186 for california bachelor’s degree physical science 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read full report on General Physical Sciences at UC Santa Cruz

#3

California State University - Stanislaus

Turlock, California

#3 in overall quality

$6,019 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Stanislaus landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Turlock, California, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s physical science degrees in 2019-2020.

Stan State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Stan State is $6,019 for California Bachelor’s Degree Physical Science students.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Stanislaus General Physical Sciences Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Physical Sciences in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Physical Sciences

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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