2027 Best Value General Schools
[General](/majors/physical-sciences/physics-and-astronomy/general/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2027 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools to find the best return on investment for general students.
What’s on this page:
Finding the Best Value General School for You
Where you study general affects both what you pay and what you earn. That is why we built our Best Value General Schools ranking. We score each school on the balance of tuition, student debt, and post-graduation earnings to surface the best value.
Read more about our methodology
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we offer several rankings, including this Best Value General Schools list, to help you choose. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
Want to compare schools head to head? Try our College Combat tool to weigh the factors that matter most to you.
See how we build our rankings
2027 Best Value General Schools in the United States
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the general degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value General Schools
For return on investment in general, no school beat Northern Arizona University this year. Located in the city of Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University is a very large public university. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $12,619, compared with $20,044 for out-of-state students. General graduates carry a median of $21,645 in student loans. Soon after graduation, general degree recipients from Northern Arizona University generally make around $47,056. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 90% of applicants are accepted.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at University Of Kentucky earned it the #2 place for general. Set in the city of Lexington, University Of Kentucky is a very large public institution. In-state tuition and fees average $13,502, while out-of-state students pay about $34,140. General graduates carry a median of $24,094 in student loans. General graduates of University Of Kentucky earn a median of $49,568 early in their careers. Set against $24,094 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 93%.
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Explore other best-value rankings in majors related to General. See all related rankings.
Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
