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

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 8,918 people earned their degree in geological and earth sciences, making the major the 84th most popular in the United States. 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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 56 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking analyzed 2 colleges that offered a degree in geological and earth sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality geological and earth sciences programs that also have a lower cost than 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 Iowa”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa

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

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$15,620 Average Net Price

$38,289 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa 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 handed out 10 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s geology students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree geology students list, UNI has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UNI is $15,620 for iowa bachelor’s degree geology students.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full University of Northern Iowa Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#2

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$15,496 Average Net Price

$32,382 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Located in Ames, Iowa, this large public school handed out 16 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s geology students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree geology students list, Iowa State has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State University is $15,496 for iowa bachelor’s degree geology students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Iowa State University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences

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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