2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Physics is the 67th most popular major in the country with 14,123 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $42,475 and had an average of $22,421 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 143 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 120 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in physics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality physics 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 physics program at the school. 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 for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa

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

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Physics in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$15,620 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Northern Iowa. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa. University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s physics degrees to qualified students.

UNI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Northern Iowa is $15,620 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Physics students.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its 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%.

Read more about Physics at University of Northern Iowa

#2

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$15,496 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Iowa State University is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 bachelors’s physics degrees to qualified students.

Iowa State also made our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State is $15,496 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Physics students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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 full report on Physics at Iowa State

#3

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$23,620 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Luther College landed the #3 spot on the list. Luther is a private not-for-profit institution located in Decorah, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Luther also made our “Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $23,620 for iowa bachelor’s degree physics students per year to attend Luther College.

The low 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%.

Read full report on Physics at Luther College

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Physics in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Physics

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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