2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (With Aid)
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking.
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.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 2,524 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 51 colleges that offer 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.
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.
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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 for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college 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. 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 for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.
Top 26 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (With Aid)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, this large public school awarded 168 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.
UNC Chapel Hill also took the #16 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $12,352 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid per year to attend UNC Chapel Hill.
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 student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Public Policy Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Princeton University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. Princeton is located in Princeton, New Jersey and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 108 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Princeton not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $11,317 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid per year to attend Princeton.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. Ann Arbor, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 77 students in 2019-2020.
U-M also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #12. The estimated yearly cost for U-M is $15,336 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. 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%.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Out of the 51 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #4 spot on the list. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 20 students in 2019-2020.
Stanford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $11,496 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid per year to attend Stanford University.
The student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. University of Virginia is a large school located in Charlottesville, Virginia that handed out 82 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
University of Virginia also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for University of Virginia is $20,397 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 ranking of #6, University of Maryland - College Park did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. University of Maryland - College Park is a large public school situated in College Park, Maryland. It awarded 68 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
UMCP not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #15 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Maryland - College Park is $19,045 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of Maryland - College Park
University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Illinois at Chicago is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend UIC is $13,312 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
The University of Texas at Dallas came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. The University of Texas at Dallas is a large public school situated in Richardson, Texas. It awarded 25 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $15,232 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid per year to attend The University of Texas at Dallas.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of California - Riverside came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. UCR is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 83 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $12,871 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid per year to attend University of California - Riverside.
The low student loan default rate of 2.1% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read more about Public Policy at University of California - Riverside
With a ranking of #10, Cornell University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Ithaca, New York, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 58 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.
Cornell also took the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Cornell University is $40,126 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.
The 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. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Duke University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Durham, North Carolina is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 233 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid list, Duke has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Duke University is $27,020 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid.
The low student loan default rate of 0.9% 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 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
William & Mary did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #12. This medium-sized school is located in Williamsburg, Virginia, and it awarded 54 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at William & Mary, the school also landed the #17 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $19,800 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid per year to attend William & Mary.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
SUNY Empire State College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Saratoga Springs, New York, this fairly large public school awarded 51 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for SUNY Empire is $12,142 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.
Michigan State University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Michigan State is a large school located in East Lansing, Michigan that handed out 27 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Michigan State is $19,173 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on Public Policy at Michigan State University
Rutgers University - New Brunswick ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Rutgers New Brunswick is a large public school situated in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It awarded 25 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
Rutgers New Brunswick did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #23 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Rutgers University - New Brunswick is $21,654 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Full Rutgers University - New Brunswick Public Policy Report
University of Pennsylvania landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. UPenn is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UPenn not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Pennsylvania is $25,802 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Mississippi did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #17. University, Mississippi is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 56 students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Ole Miss is $14,016 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University at Albany landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. UAlbany is located in Albany, New York and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 54 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The estimated yearly cost for UAlbany is $18,577 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.
St Catherine University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Saint Paul, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.
St. Kate’s also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #24. It costs about $19,078 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid per year to attend St. Kate’s.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Arizona State University - Skysong ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Arizona State University - Skysong is a public institution located in Scottsdale, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 84 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $13,971 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid per year to attend ASU - Skysong.
Virginia Tech ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Blacksburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 28 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Virginia Tech, the school also landed the #19 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $21,198 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid per year to attend Virginia Tech.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a public institution located in Columbus, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State is $17,616 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read more about Public Policy at Ohio State University - Main Campus
University of Delaware landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Delaware is a public institution located in Newark, Delaware. The school has a large population, and it awarded 37 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UD also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #25. It costs about $17,220 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid per year to attend University of Delaware.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #23, University of Rhode Island did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. URI is a fairly large public school situated in Kingston, Rhode Island. It awarded 26 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $20,607 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid per year to attend University of Rhode Island.
The low student loan default rate of 4.2% 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 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
St Mary’s College of Maryland landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. This small school is located in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $19,369 for Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid per year to attend SMCM.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Policy at St Mary’s College of Maryland
Central Washington University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. CWU is a public institution located in Ellensburg, Washington. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend CWU is $15,397 for bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.
Read more about Public Policy at Central Washington University
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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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