2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in the Plains States Region
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 the Plains States Region” 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 the Plains States region, there were 509 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $25,562 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 330 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,786 and $25,576 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 16 colleges that offer a degree in geological and earth sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great geological and earth sciences 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 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.
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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 the Plains States Region”.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region.
Top 16 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in the Plains States Region
Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology landed the #1 spot on the list. Rapid City, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at SD Mines, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is $19,815 for plains states region bachelor’s degree geology students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Northern Iowa. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region. UNI is a medium-sized school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa that handed out 10 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
UNI not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $15,620 for plains states region bachelor’s degree geology students per year to attend University of Northern Iowa.
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 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%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Northern Iowa
Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Duluth landed the #3 spot on the list. UMN Duluth is a fairly large school located in Duluth, Minnesota that handed out 8 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
UMN Duluth also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #10. The yearly cost to attend UMN Duluth is $17,067 for plains states region bachelor’s degree geology students.
The low student loan default rate of 3.1% 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%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Minnesota - Duluth
Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Morris landed the #4 spot on the list. Morris, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.
UMN Morris also took the #11 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Minnesota - Morris is $11,412 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Geology students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Minnesota - Morris
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwest Missouri State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. Northwest Missouri State University is a public institution located in Maryville, Missouri. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Northwest also took the #14 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $12,354 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Geology students per year to attend Northwest Missouri State University.
Fort Hays State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. Fort Hays State University is a fairly large public school situated in Hays, Kansas. It awarded 16 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree geology students list, FHSU has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $12,053 for plains states region bachelor’s degree geology students per year to attend Fort Hays State University.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Fort Hays State University
Missouri State University - Springfield did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #7. This large school is located in Springfield, Missouri, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
Missouri State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Missouri State University - Springfield is $16,725 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Geology students.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Missouri State
With a ranking of #8, Missouri University of Science and Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. Missouri University of Science and Technology is a medium-sized school located in Rolla, Missouri that handed out 31 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
Missouri University of Science and Technology did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Missouri University of Science and Technology is $14,262 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Geology students.
The low student loan default rate of 3.1% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Missouri University of Science and Technology
Iowa State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking. Ames, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State University is $15,496 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Geology students.
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.
Kansas State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. Kansas State University is a large school located in Manhattan, Kansas that handed out 11 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at K -State, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Kansas State University is $18,285 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Geology students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Kansas State University
University of Kansas ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. This large school is located in Lawrence, Kansas, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at KU, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for KU is $18,918 for plains states region bachelor’s degree geology students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Wichita State University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Wichita, Kansas, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
WSU also took the #16 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for WSU is $14,382 for plains states region bachelor’s degree geology students.
University of Missouri - Columbia came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking. Columbia, Missouri is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.
Mizzou did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $16,001 for plains states region bachelor’s degree geology students per year to attend University of Missouri - Columbia.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Missouri - Columbia
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #14. This large school is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
UMN Twin Cities not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $17,740 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Geology students per year to attend UMN Twin Cities.
The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at UMN Twin Cities
University of Missouri - Kansas City landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Kansas City, Missouri, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
UMKC also took the #15 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Missouri - Kansas City is $14,643 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Geology students.
Gustavus Adolphus College landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking. Gustavus Adolphus College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Peter, Minnesota. It awarded 4 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.
Gustavus Adolphus did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Gustavus Adolphus College is $19,093 for plains states region bachelor’s degree geology students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, 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 88%.
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in the Plains States Region
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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.
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- Credit for the banner image above goes to Kelvinsong.
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