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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer (Income $0-$30k)

5 Ranked Colleges
493 Degrees Awarded
$11,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor's For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 550 people earned their degree in marine science/merchant marine officer, making the major the 532nd most popular in the United States.

At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 493 marine science/merchant marine officer graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in marine science/merchant marine officer. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great marine science/merchant marine officer 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 marine science/merchant marine officer 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

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer (Income $0-$30k)

#1

Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, this small public school handed out 67 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s marine science/merchant marine officer students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Maritime, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Maritime is $6,235 for Bachelor’s Degree Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%.

Full Massachusetts Maritime Academy Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Report

#2

Northwestern Michigan College

Traverse City, Michigan
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern Michigan College. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Traverse City, Michigan, this small public school awarded 40 degrees to qualified bachelors’s marine science/merchant marine officer students in 2019-2020.

NMC also made our “Best Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend NMC is $8,776 for bachelor’s degree marine science/merchant marine officer students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer at NMC

#3

SUNY Maritime College

Throggs Neck, New York
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, SUNY Maritime College landed the #3 spot on the list. This small school is located in Throggs Neck, New York, and it awarded 110 bachelors’s marine science/merchant marine officer degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree marine science/merchant marine officer students whose families make $0-$30k list, SUNY Maritime College has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SUNY Maritime College is $10,751 for bachelor’s degree marine science/merchant marine officer students whose families make $0-$30k.

The 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 Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer at SUNY Maritime College

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University Maritime Academy. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. Cal Maritime is a public institution located in Vallejo, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 69 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Maritime not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $12,774 for bachelor’s degree marine science/merchant marine officer students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cal Maritime.

The low student loan default rate of 2.1% 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 more about Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer at Cal Maritime

#5

Maine Maritime Academy

Castine, Maine
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Maine Maritime Academy. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in Castine, Maine, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s marine science/merchant marine officer degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Maine Maritime, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Maine Maritime is $19,331 for bachelor’s degree marine science/merchant marine officer students whose families make $0-$30k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Maine Maritime Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Report

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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

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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