2023 Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region
9
Ranked Colleges
83
Degrees Awarded
$15,600
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Geophysics & Seismology is the 757th most popular major in the country with 243 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across the Far Western US region, there were 83 geophysics and seismology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in geophysics and seismology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geophysics and seismology 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 geophysics and seismology 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
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our 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 Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region geophysics students.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Geophysics & Seismology in the Far Western US Region
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Nevada - Reno landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Reno, Nevada, this large public school handed out 5 degrees to qualified ’s geophysics students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our far western us region geophysics students list, UNR has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Nevada - Reno is $14,930 for far western us region geophysics students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%.
Read more about Geophysics & Seismology at University of Nevada - Reno
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Washington University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Western Washington University is a fairly large public school situated in Bellingham, Washington. It awarded 2 ’s geophysics degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at WWU, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $17,070 for Far Western US Region Geophysics students per year to attend WWU.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Geophysics & Seismology at Western Washington University
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #3 spot on the list. San Diego State University is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 2 ’s geophysics degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our far western us region geophysics students list, SDSU has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $13,845 for Far Western US Region Geophysics students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, 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 89%.
Read full report on Geophysics & Seismology at San Diego State University
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #4 spot on the list. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 13 ’s geophysics degrees to qualified students.
UCLA also took the #5 spot in our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $15,023 for Far Western US Region Geophysics students per year to attend UCLA.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 96%.
Read full report on Geophysics & Seismology at UCLA
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region. This large school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 17 ’s geophysics degrees in 2020-2021.
UW Seattle also took the #3 spot in our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $12,017 for far western us region geophysics students per year to attend UW Seattle.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.1% 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 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Geophysics & Seismology at UW Seattle
University of California - Berkeley came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. University of California - Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 13 ’s geophysics degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Berkeley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Berkeley is $16,032 for Far Western US Region 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 school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Geophysics & Seismology at UC Berkeley
University of California - Riverside ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UCR is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 3 ’s geophysics degrees in 2020-2021.
UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Riverside is $11,822 for far western us region geophysics students.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UCR Geophysics & Seismology Report
Stanford University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #8. Stanford is located in Stanford, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 13 ’s geophysics degrees to qualified students.
Stanford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Stanford University is $12,894 for Far Western US Region Geophysics students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Geophysics & Seismology at Stanford
California Institute of Technology ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Geophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region list. California Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Caltech also took the #4 spot in our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California Institute of Technology is $26,542 for Far Western US Region Geophysics students.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Geophysics & Seismology at Caltech
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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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Kelvinsong.
