2024 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Virginia
6
Ranked Colleges
470
Degrees Awarded
$22,800
Avg Net Price*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Virginia” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
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 Virginia, there were 470 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $54,843 and $24,525 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Virginia” ranking analyzed 6 colleges that offered 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 in Virginia” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Public Policy Schools in Virginia
The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia public policy students.
Top 6 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in Virginia
Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Tech landed the #1 spot on the list. Blacksburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 27 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Virginia Tech, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $21,301 for virginia public policy students per year to attend Virginia Tech.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Virginia Tech
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Virginia list. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, this large public school handed out 88 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia public policy students list, GMU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $19,551 for Virginia Public Policy students per year to attend George Mason University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%.
Full George Mason University Public Policy Report
Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Virginia is a large public school situated in Charlottesville, Virginia. It awarded 165 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia public policy students list, University of Virginia has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $22,006 for virginia public policy students per year to attend University of Virginia.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of Virginia - Main Campus
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Liberty University. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Virginia list. Liberty University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lynchburg, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 98 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Liberty University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Liberty University is $29,382 for virginia public policy students.
Full Liberty University Public Policy Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend William & Mary. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Virginia. William & Mary is a medium-sized school located in Williamsburg, Virginia that handed out 55 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
William & Mary did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for William & Mary is $19,593 for virginia public policy students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Read full report on Public Policy at William & Mary
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