2023 Best Value Colleges for Physics in Virginia (With Aid)
9
Ranked Colleges
353
Degrees Awarded
$20,900
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Physics is the 68th most popular major in the country with 13,674 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $42,960 and had an average of $22,756 in loans still to pay off.
Across Virginia, there were 353 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $44,253 and $23,971 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in physics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great physics programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the physics program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Physics Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid
The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia physics students with aid.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Physics in Virginia (With Aid)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. University of Virginia is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 59 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
University of Virginia did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Physics Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Virginia is $22,006 for virginia physics students with aid.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Physics at University of Virginia - Main Campus
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Tech. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Blacksburg, Virginia, and it awarded 62 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
Virginia Tech also made our “Best Physics Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Virginia Tech is $21,301 for Virginia Physics students with aid.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Physics at Virginia Tech
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend William & Mary. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. William & Mary is located in Williamsburg, Virginia and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 38 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
William & Mary did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Physics Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend William & Mary is $19,593 for virginia physics students with aid.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 93%.
Read full report on Physics at William & Mary
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. GMU is located in Fairfax, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 31 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
GMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Physics Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend George Mason University is $19,551 for virginia physics students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Physics at George Mason University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Commonwealth University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Richmond, Virginia, and it awarded 23 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at VCU, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Virginia Commonwealth University is $20,490 for virginia physics students with aid.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 more about Physics at Virginia Commonwealth University
Bridgewater College did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. Bridgewater, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s physics degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
Bridgewater did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Physics Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Bridgewater College is $20,457 for Virginia Physics students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Physics at Bridgewater College
With a ranking of #7, James Madison University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. James Madison University is a large school located in Harrisonburg, Virginia that handed out 17 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
JMU also made our “Best Physics Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend JMU is $22,562 for Virginia Physics students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Physics at James Madison University
With a ranking of #8, Radford University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. This medium-sized school is located in Radford, Virginia, and it awarded 6 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia physics students with aid list, Radford has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Physics Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Radford University is $16,505 for Virginia Physics students with aid.
Read more about Physics at Radford University
Christopher Newport University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Newport News, Virginia, this small public school awarded 10 diplomas to qualified ’s physics students in 2020-2021.
CNU also made our “Best Physics Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $25,855 for Virginia Physics students with aid per year to attend Christopher Newport University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, 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 87%.
Full Christopher Newport University Physics Report
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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
- *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
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