2023 Best Value Colleges for Physics in the Plains States Region (With Aid)
14
Ranked Colleges
711
Degrees Awarded
$20,200
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
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 the Plains States region, there were 711 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $55,327 and $23,299 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in physics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality physics programs that also have a lower cost than 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
The physics 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 Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid
The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region physics students with aid.
Top 14 Best Value Colleges for Physics in the Plains States Region (With Aid)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 94 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
UMN Twin Cities did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UMN Twin Cities is $17,878 for plains states region physics students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, 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 93%.
Read full report on Physics at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Iowa State University is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 34 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State is $16,002 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 89%.
Read full report on Physics at Iowa State
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, this large public school handed out 37 degrees to qualified ’s physics students in 2020-2021.
Iowa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Iowa is $19,401 for plains states region physics students with aid.
The low undergrad 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 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of Iowa Physics Report
Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Missouri - Columbia landed the #4 spot on the list. Mizzou is a public institution located in Columbia, Missouri. The school has a large population, and it awarded 27 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Mizzou not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $16,559 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid per year to attend Mizzou.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Physics at University of Missouri - Columbia
Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Wichita State University landed the #5 spot on the list. Wichita State University is a fairly large school located in Wichita, Kansas that handed out 8 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region physics students with aid list, WSU has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Wichita State University is $14,859 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid.
Read full report on Physics at WSU
University of Minnesota - Duluth came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Minnesota - Duluth is located in Duluth, Minnesota and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 13 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
UMN Duluth not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UMN Duluth is $18,505 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Minnesota - Duluth Physics Report
Missouri State University - Springfield landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Missouri State University - Springfield is a public institution located in Springfield, Missouri. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Missouri State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Missouri State University - Springfield is $16,718 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Physics at Missouri State University - Springfield
University of Missouri - Kansas City ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. UMKC is located in Kansas City, Missouri and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 11 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
UMKC also took the #13 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $15,702 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid per year to attend University of Missouri - Kansas City.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Physics at UMKC
University of Kansas did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. University of Kansas is a large school located in Lawrence, Kansas that handed out 25 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
KU also took the #8 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $20,257 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid per year to attend University of Kansas.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default 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 University of Kansas
With a ranking of #10, Winona State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Winona, Minnesota, this medium-sized public school awarded 7 degrees to qualified ’s physics students in 2020-2021.
Winona State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Winona State is $17,634 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Physics at Winona State University
St Olaf College landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. St. Olaf is located in Northfield, Minnesota and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 14 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.
St. Olaf also made our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for St Olaf College is $24,052 for plains states region physics students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Physics at St. Olaf
Gustavus Adolphus College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Saint Peter, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s physics degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Gustavus Adolphus, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $24,696 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid per year to attend Gustavus Adolphus College.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.
Read full report on Physics at Gustavus Adolphus College
With a ranking of #13, Carleton College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid list. Carleton is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Northfield, Minnesota. It awarded 19 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Carleton, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Carleton is $28,928 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Physics at Carleton
Creighton University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Best Value Physics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Omaha, Nebraska, and it awarded 14 ’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
Creighton not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Physics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $31,218 for Plains States Region Physics students with aid per year to attend Creighton.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Physics at Creighton University
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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.
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