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2022 Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

12 Ranked Colleges
449 Degrees Awarded
$21,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Political Science & Government is the 21st most popular major in the country with 48,597 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, political science and government graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,977 and had an average of $22,822 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 449 political science and government graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,050 and $21,550 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in political science and government. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent political science and government programs, but they also cost less that 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 political science and government program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Political Science & Government Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid.

Top 12 Best Value Colleges for Political Science & Government in Iowa (With Aid)

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid. Iowa State University is a public institution located in Ames, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 97 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also took the #2 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State is $15,496 for Iowa Political Science students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Political Science & Government at Iowa State University

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s political science degrees to 148 students in 2019-2020.

Iowa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $19,145 for Iowa Political Science students with aid per year to attend University of Iowa.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of Iowa

#3

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, this medium-sized public school awarded 29 diplomas to qualified ’s political science students in 2019-2020.

UNI also made our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $15,620 for iowa political science students with aid per year to attend University of Northern Iowa.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%.

Read more about Political Science & Government at University of Northern Iowa

#4

Simpson College

Indianola, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Simpson College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid. Located in Indianola, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 10 diplomas to qualified ’s political science students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Simpson College, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $19,151 for iowa political science students with aid per year to attend Simpson College.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Simpson College Political Science & Government Report

#5

Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loras College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid. This small school is located in Dubuque, Iowa, and it awarded 15 ’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loras, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $20,676 for iowa political science students with aid per year to attend Loras.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Loras

#6

Coe College

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Coe College landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Coe College is a small school located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that handed out 16 ’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Coe, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Coe College is $19,955 for Iowa Political Science students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Coe

#7

Wartburg College

Waverly, Iowa

Wartburg College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Waverly, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 diplomas to qualified ’s political science students in 2019-2020.

Wartburg also made our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend Wartburg College is $21,787 for Iowa Political Science students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Wartburg College Political Science & Government Report

#8

Central College

Pella, Iowa

Central College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Central College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pella, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Central, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $23,269 for Iowa Political Science students with aid per year to attend Central College.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Political Science & Government at Central College

#9

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

Luther College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. Decorah, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s political science degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.

Luther also took the #8 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Luther College is $23,620 for Iowa Political Science students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Luther

#10

Grinnell College

Grinnell, Iowa

Grinnell College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. Grinnell College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Grinnell, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 49 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Grinnell, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Grinnell is $22,486 for iowa political science students with aid.

Since the school has a 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 student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Grinnell College Political Science & Government Report

#11

Cornell College

Mount Vernon, Iowa
#11 in overall quality

Cornell College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Cornell College is a small school located in Mount Vernon, Iowa that handed out 7 ’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.

Cornell College also took the #11 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $26,901 for iowa political science students with aid per year to attend Cornell College.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Political Science & Government at Cornell College

#12

Drake University

Des Moines, Iowa

Drake University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Drake is a small school located in Des Moines, Iowa that handed out 21 ’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.

Drake also took the #4 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Drake is $29,432 for Iowa Political Science students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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 Political Science & Government at Drake 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

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.

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