2023 Best Value Colleges for Political Science in Virginia (With Aid)
18
Ranked Colleges
1,575
Degrees Awarded
$23,100
Avg Net Price*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Political Science is the 13th most popular major in the country with 47,549 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across Virginia, there were 1,575 political science graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 18 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in political science. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent political science 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 political science 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 Political Science Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique 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 Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid.
Top 18 Best Value Colleges for Political Science in Virginia (With Aid)
Out of the 18 schools in the Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Virginia - Main Campus is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 114 ’s poly sci degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Virginia, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Virginia is $22,006 for Virginia Poly Sci students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 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.
Full University of Virginia - Main Campus Political Science Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Tech. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. Virginia Tech is located in Blacksburg, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 200 ’s poly sci degrees to qualified students.
Virginia Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $21,301 for virginia poly sci students with aid per year to attend Virginia Tech.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Political Science 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 Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. Williamsburg, Virginia is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s poly sci degrees to 170 students in 2020-2021.
William & Mary also took the #4 spot in our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend William & Mary is $19,593 for Virginia Poly Sci students with aid.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Political Science at William & Mary
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend James Madison University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. JMU is a large school located in Harrisonburg, Virginia that handed out 130 ’s poly sci degrees in 2020-2021.
JMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend James Madison University is $22,562 for virginia poly sci 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 Political Science at James Madison University
Out of the 18 schools in the Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington and Lee University landed the #5 spot on the list. Washington and Lee University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lexington, Virginia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 59 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Washington and Lee not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Washington and Lee is $26,175 for virginia poly sci students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Full Washington and Lee Political Science Report
George Mason University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. GMU is a large school located in Fairfax, Virginia that handed out 10 ’s poly sci degrees in 2020-2021.
GMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $19,551 for virginia poly sci students with aid per year to attend George Mason University.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Read full report on Political Science at George Mason University
With a ranking of #7, Old Dominion University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Old Dominion is a large public school situated in Norfolk, Virginia. It awarded 44 ’s poly sci degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia poly sci students with aid list, Old Dominion has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $17,204 for virginia poly sci students with aid per year to attend Old Dominion.
Read more about Political Science at Old Dominion University
With a ranking of #8, Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Virginia Commonwealth University is a large school located in Richmond, Virginia that handed out 201 ’s poly sci degrees in 2020-2021.
VCU also made our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend VCU is $20,490 for virginia poly sci students with aid.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Virginia Commonwealth University Political Science Report
Radford University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking. Radford is a medium-sized public school situated in Radford, Virginia. It awarded 23 ’s poly sci degrees in 2020-2021.
Radford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #16 on our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Radford is $16,505 for virginia poly sci students with aid.
Read full report on Political Science at Radford
Regent University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #10. Regent is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 30 ’s poly sci degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our virginia poly sci students with aid list, Regent has also earned the #17 rank in our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Regent is $24,888 for Virginia Poly Sci students with aid.
Full Regent University Political Science Report
University of Richmond ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Located in University of Richmond, Virginia, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 41 diplomas to qualified ’s poly sci students in 2020-2021.
URichmond also made our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $27,050 for Virginia Poly Sci students with aid per year to attend University of Richmond.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science at University of Richmond
University of Mary Washington came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking. UMW is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 44 ’s poly sci degrees to qualified students.
UMW also took the #12 spot in our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Mary Washington is $23,193 for virginia poly sci 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 more about Political Science at University of Mary Washington
Christopher Newport University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking. CNU is located in Newport News, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 87 ’s poly sci degrees to qualified students.
CNU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for CNU is $25,855 for virginia poly sci students with aid.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%.
Full Christopher Newport University Political Science Report
Roanoke College did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #14. Salem, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s poly sci degrees to 20 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia poly sci students with aid list, Roanoke has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $26,997 for virginia poly sci students with aid per year to attend Roanoke.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Roanoke College Political Science Report
Randolph - Macon College did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #15. Randolph - Macon is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Ashland, Virginia. It awarded 14 ’s poly sci degrees in 2020-2021.
Randolph - Macon did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $25,551 for virginia poly sci students with aid per year to attend Randolph - Macon College.
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 school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science at Randolph - Macon
With a ranking of #16, Virginia State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Virginia State University is a small school located in Petersburg, Virginia that handed out 20 ’s poly sci degrees in 2020-2021.
Virginia State also took the #18 spot in our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $17,237 for Virginia Poly Sci students with aid per year to attend Virginia State.
Read more about Political Science at Virginia State
Liberty University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #17. Liberty University is a large school located in Lynchburg, Virginia that handed out 177 ’s poly sci degrees in 2020-2021.
Liberty University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $29,382 for virginia poly sci students with aid per year to attend Liberty University.
Full Liberty University Political Science Report
Hampden - Sydney College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Poly Sci Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking. Hampden-Sydney, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s poly sci degrees to 20 students in 2020-2021.
Hampden - Sydney did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Political Science Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Hampden - Sydney is $30,746 for virginia poly sci students with aid.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 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 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science at Hampden - Sydney
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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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