2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in the Southwest Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 6,199 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 116th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southwest region, there were 536 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,050 and $23,421 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 285 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,896 and $23,899 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 2 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy programs and 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 public policy program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in the Southwest Region

#1

The University of Texas at Dallas

Richardson, Texas

#2 in overall quality

$10,857 Average Net Price

$35,060 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Dallas. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k. UT Dallas is a large school located in Richardson, Texas that handed out 25 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Dallas not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at Dallas is $10,857 for southwest region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at UT Dallas

#2

Southern Methodist University

Dallas, Texas

#1 in overall quality

$26,718 Average Net Price

$38,289 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Methodist University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k. SMU is a fairly large school located in Dallas, Texas that handed out 41 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

SMU also took the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Methodist University is $26,718 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Public Policy at SMU

#2

Arizona State University - Skysong

Scottsdale, Arizona

#3 in overall quality

$12,037 Average Net Price

$37,110 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Skysong. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. ASU - Skysong is a public institution located in Scottsdale, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 84 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

ASU - Skysong did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $12,037 for southwest region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Arizona State University - Skysong.

Full Arizona State University - Skysong Public Policy Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k)

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 The Official CTBTO Photostream.

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