2022 Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Geological & Earth Sciences is the 84th most popular major in the country with 8,918 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, geological and earth sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $35,533 and had an average of $23,531 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 70 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in geological and earth sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geological and earth sciences programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the geological and earth sciences 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

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa geology students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $75-$110k) in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$17,467 Average Net Price

$39,900 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, this medium-sized public school awarded 10 diplomas to qualified ’s geology students in 2019-2020.

UNI also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $17,467 for Iowa Geology students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend UNI.

The low student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%. 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 UNI Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#2

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$17,228 Average Net Price

$46,410 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 22 ’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $17,228 for iowa geology students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Iowa State.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Iowa State University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

• Best Value Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $75-$110k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $75-$110k)

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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