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2022 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Massachusetts

8 Ranked Colleges
562 Degrees Awarded
$13,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Public Policy is the 116th most popular major in the country with 6,199 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Massachusetts, there were 562 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $54,833 and $39,641 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for massachusetts public policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Massachusetts

#1

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Harvard University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k. Harvard University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 252 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our massachusetts public policy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Harvard has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $2,973 for Massachusetts Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Harvard.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Public Policy at Harvard

#2

Tufts University

Medford, Massachusetts

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Tufts University landed the #2 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Medford, Massachusetts, and it awarded 9 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our massachusetts public policy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Tufts has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $5,267 for massachusetts public policy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Tufts University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.

Full Tufts University Public Policy Report

#3

Northeastern University

Boston, Massachusetts

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeastern University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k list. Northeastern University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Boston, Massachusetts. It awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Northeastern also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend Northeastern is $10,239 for Massachusetts Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. 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 more about Public Policy at Northeastern University

#4

Brandeis University

Waltham, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brandeis University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k. Brandeis is a medium-sized school located in Waltham, Massachusetts that handed out 154 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Brandeis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $13,567 for Massachusetts Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Brandeis University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Public Policy at Brandeis University

#5

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, Massachusetts

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Massachusetts Amherst. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Massachusetts Amherst is a large school located in Amherst, Massachusetts that handed out 34 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UMass Amherst also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for UMass Amherst is $13,137 for Massachusetts Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. 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 more about Public Policy at University of Massachusetts Amherst

University of Massachusetts - Boston did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. UMass Boston is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 35 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our massachusetts public policy students whose families make $0-$30k list, UMass Boston has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Massachusetts - Boston is $13,859 for massachusetts public policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Public Policy at UMass Boston

#7

Simmons University

Boston, Massachusetts

With a ranking of #7, Simmons University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k list. Simmons is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Boston, Massachusetts. It awarded 5 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Simmons also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Simmons is $22,999 for Massachusetts Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.0% 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%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Public Policy at Simmons

#8

Suffolk University

Boston, Massachusetts

Suffolk University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Suffolk is a medium-sized school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 5 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our massachusetts public policy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Suffolk has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $27,748 for massachusetts public policy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Suffolk University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Suffolk

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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