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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences in Virginia

12 Ranked Colleges
1,054 Degrees Awarded
$21,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor's in Virginia

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Physical Sciences is the 18th most popular major in the country with 52,879 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Virginia, there were 1,484 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,054 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Physical Sciences Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia.

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences in Virginia

#1

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Tech. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. Located in Blacksburg, Virginia, this large public school awarded 179 degrees to qualified bachelors’s physical sciences students in 2019-2020.

Virginia Tech also took the #3 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Virginia Tech is $21,198 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Physical Sciences students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Virginia Tech Physical Sciences Report

#2

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, Virginia
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend James Madison University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Harrisonburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s physical sciences degrees to 69 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree physical sciences students list, JMU has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend James Madison University is $22,169 for virginia bachelor’s degree physical sciences students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full James Madison University Physical Sciences Report

#3

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. University of Virginia - Main Campus is a public institution located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 125 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Virginia also made our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $20,397 for virginia bachelor’s degree physical sciences students per year to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, 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 97%.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Virginia - Main Campus

#4

Christopher Newport University

Newport News, Virginia
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Christopher Newport University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. Christopher Newport University is a small public school situated in Newport News, Virginia. It awarded 24 bachelors’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

CNU also took the #5 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $25,596 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Physical Sciences students per year to attend Christopher Newport University.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 Physical Sciences at CNU

#5

Radford University

Radford, Virginia
#11 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Radford University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Radford University is a public institution located in Radford, Virginia. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Radford also made our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #11. The yearly cost to attend Radford University is $16,447 for virginia bachelor’s degree physical sciences students.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Radford

#6

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, Virginia
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of Mary Washington did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. University of Mary Washington is a small public school situated in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It awarded 58 bachelors’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UMW also made our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $21,907 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Physical Sciences students per year to attend University of Mary Washington.

The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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 Physical Sciences at UMW

#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Virginia Commonwealth University is a public institution located in Richmond, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 133 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

VCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for VCU is $22,021 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Physical Sciences students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Physical Sciences at VCU

#8

Virginia Military Institute

Lexington, Virginia
#6 in overall quality

Virginia Military Institute landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. VMI is located in Lexington, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19 bachelors’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

VMI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $17,804 for virginia bachelor’s degree physical sciences students per year to attend Virginia Military Institute.

The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at VMI

#9

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, George Mason University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, this large public school awarded 70 degrees to qualified bachelors’s physical sciences students in 2019-2020.

GMU also made our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend GMU is $21,048 for virginia bachelor’s degree physical sciences students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Physical Sciences at GMU

#10

William & Mary

Williamsburg, Virginia
#2 in overall quality

William & Mary came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Williamsburg, Virginia is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s physical sciences degrees to 107 students in 2019-2020.

William & Mary not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $19,800 for virginia bachelor’s degree physical sciences students per year to attend William & Mary.

The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 Physical Sciences at William & Mary

#11

Bridgewater College

Bridgewater, Virginia
#12 in overall quality

Bridgewater College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Bridgewater, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s physical sciences degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

Bridgewater also took the #12 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bridgewater College is $17,929 for virginia bachelor’s degree physical sciences students.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Bridgewater

#12

Roanoke College

Salem, Virginia
#10 in overall quality

Roanoke College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking, coming in at #12. Roanoke is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Salem, Virginia. It awarded 15 bachelors’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Roanoke, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Roanoke College is $25,135 for virginia bachelor’s degree physical sciences students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Physical Sciences at Roanoke College

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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

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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