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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $75-$110k) in Pennsylvania

4 Ranked Colleges
98 Degrees Awarded
$25,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor's in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k” 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 Pennsylvania, there were 308 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $66,300 and $48,733 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 98 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer 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.

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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $75-$110k) in Pennsylvania

#1

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pennsylvania landed the #1 spot on the list. UPenn is a large school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 23 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UPenn also took the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UPenn is $20,632 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UPenn Public Policy Report

#2

Dickinson College

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Dickinson College landed the #2 spot on the list. Dickinson is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It awarded 18 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Dickinson also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Dickinson College is $24,027 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Public Policy at Dickinson

#3

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Carnegie Mellon University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k list. Carnegie Mellon University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 14 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Carnegie Mellon also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $30,722 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Carnegie Mellon.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national 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. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon

#4

Gettysburg College

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Gettysburg College landed the #4 spot on the list. This small school is located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Gettysburg also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Gettysburg College is $25,892 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Full Gettysburg 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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