2023 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region
8
Ranked Colleges
144
Degrees Awarded
$11,500
Avg Net Price*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 6,430 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 113th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $21,866 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Plains States region, there were 144 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $50,368 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools
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 in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington University in St Louis landed the #1 spot on the list. WUSTL is a fairly large school located in Saint Louis, Missouri that handed out 28 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at WUSTL, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend WUSTL is $2,446 for Plains States Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 Public Policy at WUSTL
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 71 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UMN Twin Cities did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $8,609 for plains states region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Public Policy at UMN Twin Cities
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Kansas. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Lawrence, Kansas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.
KU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Kansas is $16,288 for plains states region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full KU Public Policy Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Missouri Southern State University landed the #4 spot on the list. This small school is located in Joplin, Missouri, and it awarded 5 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
Missouri Southern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Missouri Southern is $7,731 for plains states region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.
Read more about Public Policy at Missouri Southern State University
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #5 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and it awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
UNI also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UNI is $13,175 for plains states region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Northern Iowa Public Policy Report
Capella University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Capella University is a large school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 8 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
Capella University also took the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking.
Read full report on Public Policy at Capella University
St Catherine University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #7. St Catherine University is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
St. Kate’s also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend St. Kate’s is $15,209 for Plains States Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at St Catherine University
Saint Louis University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. SLU is a fairly large school located in Saint Louis, Missouri that handed out 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
SLU also took the #6 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $16,755 for plains states region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Saint Louis University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 undergraduate 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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Saint Louis University 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
- *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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