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2022 Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

4 Ranked Colleges
14 Degrees Awarded
$16,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor's in California

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 251 people earned their degree in geophysics and seismology, making the major the 674th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 57 geophysics and seismology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 14 geophysics and seismology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in geophysics and seismology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great geophysics and seismology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the geophysics and seismology program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to 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.

Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geophysics & Seismology in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geophysics degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Los Angeles is $14,279 for california bachelor’s degree geophysics students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Geophysics & Seismology at UCLA

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 7 bachelors’s geophysics degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UC Berkeley is $15,329 for California Bachelor’s Degree Geophysics 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. The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 more about Geophysics & Seismology at UC Berkeley

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school awarded 2 degrees to qualified bachelors’s geophysics students in 2019-2020.

UCR also made our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Riverside is $12,871 for california bachelor’s degree geophysics students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Geophysics & Seismology at UCR

#4

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 1 bachelors’s geophysics degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $24,274 for california bachelor’s degree geophysics students per year to attend Caltech.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Geophysics & Seismology at California Institute of Technology

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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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Kelvinsong.

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