2023 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in District of Columbia (With Aid)
3
Ranked Colleges
320
Degrees Awarded
$34,900
Avg Net Price*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid” 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 District of Columbia, there were 320 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $67,076 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 3 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.
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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools
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 in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid” 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Public Policy Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid.
Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in District of Columbia (With Aid)
Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Georgetown University landed the #1 spot on the list. Georgetown University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 201 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Georgetown not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in District of Columbia” list. The yearly cost to attend Georgetown is $32,108 for District of Columbia Public Policy students with aid.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Georgetown University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Washington University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 69 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
GWU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in District of Columbia” list. It costs about $32,563 for District of Columbia Public Policy students with aid per year to attend GWU.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Public Policy at George Washington University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend American University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 50 students in 2020-2021.
The American University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in District of Columbia” list. It costs about $40,088 for District of Columbia Public Policy students with aid per year to attend The American University.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at American 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
- *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.
Credits
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