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2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k

8 Ranked Colleges
562 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 $48-$75k” 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.

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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k

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

Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in Massachusetts

#1

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harvard University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k list. Harvard University is a large school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts that handed out 252 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Harvard, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Harvard is $3,411 for massachusetts public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low 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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Public Policy at Harvard University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Massachusetts - Boston. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Massachusetts - 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.

UMass Boston also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Massachusetts - Boston is $18,521 for Massachusetts Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Massachusetts - Boston

#3

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Massachusetts Amherst. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k. This large school is located in Amherst, Massachusetts, and it awarded 34 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMass Amherst, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UMass Amherst is $18,104 for Massachusetts Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Massachusetts Amherst

#4

Northeastern University

Boston, Massachusetts

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeastern University landed the #4 spot on the list. Boston, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

Northeastern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northeastern is $17,692 for Massachusetts Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Northeastern

#5

Tufts University

Medford, Massachusetts

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Tufts University landed the #5 spot on the list. Tufts is a private not-for-profit institution located in Medford, Massachusetts. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Tufts, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Tufts University is $13,525 for massachusetts public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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.

Full Tufts University Public Policy Report

#6

Brandeis University

Waltham, Massachusetts

Brandeis University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Waltham, Massachusetts is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 154 students in 2019-2020.

Brandeis also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Brandeis University is $20,122 for massachusetts public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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.

Read full report on Public Policy at Brandeis University

#7

Simmons University

Boston, Massachusetts

Simmons University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Simmons is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

Simmons also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Simmons University is $26,214 for Massachusetts Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Public Policy at Simmons

#8

Suffolk University

Boston, Massachusetts

Suffolk University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #8. This medium-sized school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 5 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Suffolk not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” list. The yearly cost to attend Suffolk University is $28,986 for Massachusetts Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

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%.

Full Suffolk Public Policy Report

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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