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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in Virginia

5 Ranked Colleges
107 Degrees Awarded
$20,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor's in Virginia

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” 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 Virginia, there were 138 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,500 and $23,614 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 107 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the geological and earth sciences program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The geology 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 Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia

The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia bachelor’s degree geology students.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in Virginia

#1

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Tech. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Virginia Tech is a large public school situated in Blacksburg, Virginia. It awarded 19 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree geology students list, Virginia Tech has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Virginia Tech is $21,198 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Geology students.

The low 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Virginia Tech

#2

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, Virginia
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend James Madison University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, this large public school handed out 25 degrees to qualified bachelors’s geology students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree geology students list, JMU has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $22,169 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Geology students per year to attend JMU.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.

Full James Madison University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#3

Radford University

Radford, Virginia
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Radford University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Radford, Virginia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Radford, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $16,447 for virginia bachelor’s degree geology students per year to attend Radford University.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Radford University

#4

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, George Mason University landed the #4 spot on the list. GMU is located in Fairfax, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s geology degrees to qualified students.

GMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for George Mason University is $21,048 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Geology students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, 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 86%.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at GMU

#5

William & Mary

Williamsburg, Virginia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend William & Mary. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. William & Mary is located in Williamsburg, Virginia and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 bachelors’s geology degrees to qualified students.

William & Mary also took the #1 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for William & Mary is $19,800 for virginia bachelor’s degree geology students.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at William & Mary

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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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