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2023 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in Pennsylvania

5 Ranked Colleges
330 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $48-$75k

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 Pennsylvania For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,430 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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 Pennsylvania, there were 330 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,423 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 5 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.

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

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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 Pennsylvania For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 in Pennsylvania For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 5 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in Pennsylvania

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Pennsylvania is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 31 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, UPenn has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Pennsylvania is $12,020 for Pennsylvania Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Pennsylvania

2
Carnegie Mellon crest
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Carnegie Mellon University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $48-$75k list. Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 75 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Carnegie Mellon, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Carnegie Mellon is $21,526 for pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%.

Full Carnegie Mellon Public Policy Report

3
Dickinson crest
Dickinson College
Carlisle, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Dickinson College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $48-$75k. Dickinson is a private not-for-profit institution located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 16 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Dickinson also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Dickinson College is $19,300 for Pennsylvania Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% 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 8 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 Dickinson

4
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Temple University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $48-$75k. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 50 students in 2020-2021.

Temple also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $21,568 for Pennsylvania Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Temple.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Temple Public Policy Report

5

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. Pitt is a large school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that handed out 33 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

Pitt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is $24,139 for Pennsylvania Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 full report on Public Policy at Pitt

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