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2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

13 Ranked Colleges
1,540 Degrees Awarded
$21,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor's in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Social Sciences is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 5th of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 205,726 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, social sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $34,801 and had an average of $23,466 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 1,610 social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,613 and $22,174 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,540 social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 13 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in social sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great social sciences programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the social sciences program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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 Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa bachelor’s degree social sciences students with aid.

Top 13 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Sciences in Iowa (With Aid)

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Iowa State University is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 209 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also made our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State University is $15,496 for iowa bachelor’s degree social sciences students with aid.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Iowa State Social Sciences Report

#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Northern Iowa. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid. UNI is a public institution located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 151 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI also took the #5 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UNI is $15,620 for iowa bachelor’s degree social sciences students with aid.

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

Read more about Social Sciences at University of Northern Iowa

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 571 students in 2019-2020.

Iowa also took the #4 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $19,145 for iowa bachelor’s degree social sciences 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 low student loan default rate of 3.5% 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 Social Sciences at University of Iowa

#4

Simpson College

Indianola, Iowa
#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Simpson College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Indianola, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 23 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social sciences students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Simpson College, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $19,151 for iowa bachelor’s degree social sciences 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%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Simpson College

#5

Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Loras College landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Dubuque, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 36 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s social sciences students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree social sciences students with aid list, Loras has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $20,676 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students with aid per year to attend Loras.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Loras College

#6

Wartburg College

Waverly, Iowa
#6 in overall quality

Wartburg College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Wartburg College is a small school located in Waverly, Iowa that handed out 23 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Wartburg also made our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $21,787 for iowa bachelor’s degree social sciences students with aid per year to attend Wartburg College.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at Wartburg

#7

Coe College

Cedar Rapids, Iowa
#10 in overall quality

Coe College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Coe College is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 42 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.

Coe also made our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #10. It costs about $19,955 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students with aid per year to attend Coe College.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Coe College

#8

Central College

Pella, Iowa
#11 in overall quality

Central College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Pella, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 41 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s social sciences students in 2019-2020.

Central also made our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $23,269 for iowa bachelor’s degree social sciences students with aid per year to attend Central.

The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 Social Sciences at Central College

#9

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, Iowa
#13 in overall quality

Upper Iowa University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. Upper Iowa University is a small school located in Fayette, Iowa that handed out 85 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $21,624 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students with aid per year to attend Upper Iowa University.

Read full report on Social Sciences at UIU

#10

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, Luther College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. Luther College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Decorah, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Luther also took the #9 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Luther is $23,620 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences 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%.

Full Luther College Social Sciences Report

#11

Cornell College

Mount Vernon, Iowa
#12 in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, Cornell College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. Cornell College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Mount Vernon, Iowa. It awarded 19 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree social sciences students with aid list, Cornell College has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cornell College is $26,901 for iowa bachelor’s degree social sciences students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Cornell College Social Sciences Report

#12

Grinnell College

Grinnell, Iowa
#1 in overall quality

Grinnell College landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Grinnell is located in Grinnell, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 129 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.

Grinnell also took the #1 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Grinnell is $22,486 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students with aid.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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 full report on Social Sciences at Grinnell

#13

Drake University

Des Moines, Iowa
#3 in overall quality

Drake University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #13. Drake University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 68 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Drake did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Drake University is $29,432 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students with aid.

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%. 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Drake Social Sciences Report

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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