2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries in the Plains States Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Pastoral Counseling Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 3,028 people earned their degree in pastoral counseling and specialized ministries, making the major the 168th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, pastoral counseling and specialized ministries graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,316 and had an average of $31,905 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 325 pastoral counseling and specialized ministries graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,450 and $30,014 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 24 pastoral counseling and specialized ministries graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,069 and $19,434 respectively.

This ranking identifies schools with high-quality pastoral counseling and specialized ministries 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 pastoral counseling and specialized ministries program at the school. 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 Pastoral Counseling Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Pastoral Counseling Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Pastoral Counseling Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region.

Top 1 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries in the Plains States Region

#1

Ozark Christian College

Joplin, Missouri

#1 in overall quality

$15,138 Average Net Price

Out of the 1 schools in the Best Value Pastoral Counseling Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ozark Christian College landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Joplin, Missouri, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 24 diplomas to qualified associates’s pastoral counseling students in 2019-2020.

Ozark Christian College also made our “Best Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Ozark Christian College is $15,138 for plains states region associate degree pastoral counseling students.

The low student loan default rate of 5.0% 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 Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries at Ozark Christian College

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries

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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