2022 Best Value Optics/Optical Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Optics/Optical Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Optics/Optical Sciences is the 783rd most popular major in the country with 189 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across the Southwest region, there were 116 optics/optical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Optics/Optical Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in optics/optical sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great optics/optical sciences programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the optics/optical sciences program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The optics/optical sciences 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 Optics/Optical Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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 Optics/Optical Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region optics/optical sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Optics/Optical Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in the Southwest Region

#1

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

#1 in overall quality

$10,562 Average Net Price

$44,160 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Optics/Optical Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Arizona is a large school located in Tucson, Arizona that handed out 103 ’s optics/optical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region optics/optical sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, University of Arizona has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Optics/Optical Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Arizona is $10,562 for southwest region optics/optical sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read more about Optics/Optical Sciences at University of Arizona

#2

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico

#2 in overall quality

$13,242 Average Net Price

$41,938 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Optics/Optical Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of New Mexico - Main Campus is a large school located in Albuquerque, New Mexico that handed out 13 ’s optics/optical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region optics/optical sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, UNM has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Optics/Optical Sciences Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UNM is $13,242 for southwest region optics/optical sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Optics/Optical Sciences at UNM

• Best Value Colleges for Optics/Optical Sciences (Income $0-$30k)

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 A. T. Service.

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