2022 Best Value Colleges for Physical Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in Rhode Island

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 52,879 people earned their degree in physical sciences, making the major the 18th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $38,122 and had an average of $22,339 in loans still to pay off.

Across Rhode Island, there were 252 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $21,139 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in physical sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent physical sciences programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the physical 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 physical 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 Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island For Those Making $30-$48k”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Physical Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in Rhode Island

#1

Brown University

Providence, Rhode Island

#1 in overall quality

$6,684 Average Net Price

$50,614 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brown University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island For Those Making $30-$48k. This medium-sized school is located in Providence, Rhode Island, and it awarded 165 ’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Brown did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island” list. The estimated yearly cost for Brown is $6,684 for Rhode Island Physical Sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Brown

#2

Rhode Island College

Providence, Rhode Island

#3 in overall quality

$8,961 Average Net Price

$36,600 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rhode Island College. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island For Those Making $30-$48k list. RIC is a medium-sized public school situated in Providence, Rhode Island. It awarded 6 ’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at RIC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Rhode Island College is $8,961 for rhode island physical sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Physical Sciences at RIC

#3

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, Rhode Island

#2 in overall quality

$15,509 Average Net Price

$43,698 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Rhode Island landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Rhode Island is a fairly large public school situated in Kingston, Rhode Island. It awarded 69 ’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

URI not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in Rhode Island” list. It costs about $15,509 for rhode island physical sciences students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Rhode Island.

The low student loan default rate of 4.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full URI Physical Sciences Report

• Best Value Colleges for Physical Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in the New England Region
• Best Value Colleges for Physical Sciences (Income $30-$48k)

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 NASA.

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