2023 Best Value Colleges for Social Work in Virginia (With Aid)
9
Ranked Colleges
1,010
Degrees Awarded
$20,600
Avg Net Price*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 58,326 people earned their degree in social work, making the major the 13th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, social work graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $37,651 and had an average of $26,679 in loans still to pay off.
Across Virginia, there were 1,010 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,341 and $29,240 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in social work. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent social work programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the social work program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Social Work in Virginia (With Aid)
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Norfolk State University landed the #1 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Norfolk, Virginia, and it awarded 91 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Norfolk State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $15,657 for Virginia Social Work students with aid per year to attend Norfolk State.
Read more about Social Work at Norfolk State
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Richmond, Virginia, this large public school awarded 307 diplomas to qualified ’s social work students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at VCU, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Social Work Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $20,490 for virginia social work students with aid per year to attend Virginia Commonwealth University.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Radford University landed the #3 spot on the list. Radford, Virginia is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s social work degrees to 92 students in 2020-2021.
Radford also made our “Best Social Work Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $16,505 for virginia social work students with aid per year to attend Radford University.
Read full report on Social Work at Radford University
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, George Mason University landed the #4 spot on the list. GMU is located in Fairfax, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 128 ’s social work degrees to qualified students.
GMU also made our “Best Social Work Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend George Mason University is $19,551 for virginia social work students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Social Work at GMU
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend James Madison University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. James Madison University is a large public school situated in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It awarded 57 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
JMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend JMU is $22,562 for Virginia Social Work students with aid.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, 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 89%.
Full James Madison University Social Work Report
With a ranking of #6, Mary Baldwin University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Staunton, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social work degrees to 25 students in 2020-2021.
Mary Baldwin did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $18,354 for Virginia Social Work students with aid per year to attend Mary Baldwin.
Read full report on Social Work at Mary Baldwin University
Virginia State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Virginia State University is a small school located in Petersburg, Virginia that handed out 35 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Virginia State also took the #9 spot in our “Best Social Work Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Virginia State University is $17,237 for Virginia Social Work students with aid.
Read full report on Social Work at Virginia State
Christopher Newport University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking. Christopher Newport University is located in Newport News, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 22 ’s social work degrees to qualified students.
CNU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend CNU is $25,855 for virginia social work students with aid.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad 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%.
Read full report on Social Work at CNU
Liberty University landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in Lynchburg, Virginia, and it awarded 192 ’s social work degrees in 2020-2021.
Liberty University also took the #4 spot in our “Best Social Work Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Liberty University is $29,382 for Virginia Social Work students with aid.
Read more about Social Work at Liberty 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.
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