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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

7 Ranked Colleges
233 Degrees Awarded
$13,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” 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 Far Western US region, there were 815 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,911 and $47,125 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 233 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public policy 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 public policy program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

The public policy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 20 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford is $1,145 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 4 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 86%. The low student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%.

Full Stanford Public Policy Report

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Riverside landed the #2 spot on the list. University of California - Riverside is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 83 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, UCR has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Riverside is $9,151 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, 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 91%.

Full UCR Public Policy Report

#3

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 46 students in 2019-2020.

USC also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $16,252 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Southern California.

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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 USC

#4

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Washington State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Wazzu is a public institution located in Pullman, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 20 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Wazzu did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Washington State University is $11,337 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%.

Full Wazzu Public Policy Report

#5

Central Washington University

Ellensburg, Washington
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Washington University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. CWU is a public institution located in Ellensburg, Washington. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

CWU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Central Washington University is $11,423 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full CWU Public Policy Report

#6

Mills College

Oakland, California
#4 in overall quality

Mills College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This small school is located in Oakland, California, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Mills not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $19,300 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Mills.

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%. 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.

Read full report on Public Policy at Mills

#7

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California

Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 7 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, MSMU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Mount Saint Mary’s University is $27,376 for far western us region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

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

Full MSMU Public Policy Report

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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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