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2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k

5 Ranked Colleges
330 Degrees Awarded
$26,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Pennsylvania, there were 330 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,423 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, we looked at 5 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.

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. 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 $75-$110k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 5 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $75-$110k) in Pennsylvania

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools 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. University of Pennsylvania is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 31 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $75-$110k list, UPenn has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $20,957 for pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend UPenn.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UPenn Public Policy Report

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 $75-$110k list. Carnegie Mellon University is a fairly large school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that handed out 75 ’s public policy 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 University is $31,094 for pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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.

Read full report on Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon

3
Dickinson crest
Dickinson College
Carlisle, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dickinson College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k list. Dickinson is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It awarded 16 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

Dickinson also took the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Dickinson is $25,420 for Pennsylvania Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

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. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Dickinson College Public Policy Report

4
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Temple University landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 50 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $75-$110k list, Temple has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Temple University is $24,335 for Pennsylvania Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Temple University Public Policy Report

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $75-$110k list. Pitt is a large school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that handed out 33 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

Pitt did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend Pitt is $29,274 for Pennsylvania Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at Pitt

Notes and References

References

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