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2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid

11 Ranked Colleges
892 Degrees Awarded
$19,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 the Far Western US region, there were 892 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,209 and $22,744 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 11 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.

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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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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 the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid”.

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. 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 in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region public policy students with aid.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in the Far Western US Region (With Aid)

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 114 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.

UC Berkeley also took the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $16,032 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Berkeley Public Policy Report

2

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Nevada - Las Vegas landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Nevada - Las Vegas is a large public school situated in Las Vegas, Nevada. It awarded 12 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

UNLV did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UNLV is $10,993 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students with aid.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UNLV Public Policy Report

3

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #3 spot on the list. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 131 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Los Angeles is $15,023 for far western us region public policy students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UCLA Public Policy Report

4

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Riverside landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 109 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

UCR also took the #6 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Riverside is $11,822 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students with aid.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of California - Riverside Public Policy Report

5

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Portland State University landed the #5 spot on the list. Portland State University is a large public school situated in Portland, Oregon. It awarded 25 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our far western us region public policy students with aid list, Portland State University has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Portland State University is $12,498 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students with aid.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Portland State University Public Policy Report

6

University of California - Irvine came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 14 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Irvine is $12,209 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students with aid.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Policy at UC Irvine

7
Wazzu crest
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington

With a ranking of #7, Washington State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Pullman, Washington, this large public school awarded 12 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.

Wazzu did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Washington State University is $15,300 for far western us region public policy students with aid.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Washington State University Public Policy Report

8
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 199 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $32,569 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students with aid per year to attend University of Southern California.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate 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. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at USC

9
Mills crest
Mills College
Oakland, California

Mills College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid list. Mills is a small school located in Oakland, California that handed out 31 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

Mills also took the #9 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Mills College is $24,949 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students with aid.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad 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 Mills

10
CLU crest
California Lutheran University
Thousand Oaks, California

California Lutheran University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. CLU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Thousand Oaks, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 30 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CLU, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $27,410 for far western us region public policy students with aid per year to attend California Lutheran University.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California Lutheran University Public Policy Report

11
Pepperdine crest
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California

Pepperdine University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Pepperdine is a fairly large school located in Malibu, California that handed out 31 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Pepperdine, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $38,846 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students with aid per year to attend Pepperdine.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at Pepperdine

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References

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