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2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

81 Ranked Colleges
2,059 Degrees Awarded
$7,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Music is the 40th most popular major in the country with 27,047 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, music graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $25,639 and had an average of $28,653 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 4,534 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $21,228 and $32,045 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 2,059 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 81 colleges that offered a degree in music. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality music programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the music 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.

More Ways to Rank Music Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. 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 Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $-1,387 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Stanford. When an average net price is negative, it usually means that the student will receive more financial aid than it costs to attend the school.

The low student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Music at Stanford University

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Seattle, Washington, this large public school awarded 26 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.

UW Seattle not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $7,850 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Music at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Cal State LA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $1,379 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cal State LA.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal State LA Music Report

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 81 schools in the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 33 degrees to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $8,392 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music at UC Berkeley

#5

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. University of California - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 67 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCLA is $8,553 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Music Report

University of California - Irvine came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UC Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 16 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Irvine has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Irvine is $9,558 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full University of California - Irvine Music Report

With a ranking of #7, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Cal State Fullerton is a public institution located in Fullerton, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 67 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fullerton is $4,291 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, 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%.

Read full report on Music at California State University - Fullerton

California State University - Fresno did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. Fresno, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 28 students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $3,264 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Fresno Music Report

#2 in overall quality

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. San Luis Obispo, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is $12,475 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Music Report

California State University - Northridge landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California State University - Northridge is located in Northridge, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 125 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.

The estimated yearly cost for CSUN is $5,945 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full CSUN Music Report

California State University - Long Beach landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. CSULB is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 113 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - Long Beach is $6,364 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Music at CSULB

California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. CSUDH is a fairly large school located in Carson, California that handed out 15 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $2,455 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend CSUDH.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full CSUDH Music Report

#13

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. San Diego State University is a large school located in San Diego, California that handed out 63 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $8,870 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend SDSU.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Music at San Diego State University

University of Nevada - Las Vegas came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Las Vegas, Nevada, this large public school awarded 25 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k list, UNLV has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Nevada - Las Vegas is $9,378 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full UNLV Music Report

#15

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 32 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Santa Barbara is $10,316 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, 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 91%.

Full UCSB Music Report

#16

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California

With a ranking of #16, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 23 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.

The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Riverside is $8,366 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music at University of California - Riverside

#17

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington

Washington State University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Washington State University is a large public school situated in Pullman, Washington. It awarded 13 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Wazzu is $9,334 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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 Music at Washington State University

University of California - Davis came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UC Davis is a large school located in Davis, California that handed out 21 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #19 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $9,842 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music at UC Davis

#19

Western Washington University

Bellingham, Washington

With a ranking of #19, Western Washington University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Western Washington University is a fairly large school located in Bellingham, Washington that handed out 26 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Western Washington University is $9,743 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music at WWU

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Pomona, California, this large public school awarded 60 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #20. The estimated yearly cost for California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $8,596 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music at Cal Poly Pomona

#21

California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino, California

California State University - San Bernardino ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in San Bernardino, California, and it awarded 19 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - San Bernardino is $5,077 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full CSUSB Music Report

University of California - San Diego landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of California - San Diego is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for UCSD is $9,280 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%.

Read full report on Music at University of California - San Diego

California State University - Stanislaus came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Stan State is located in Turlock, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.

The yearly cost to attend Stan State is $3,410 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%.

Read more about Music at California State University - Stanislaus

California State University - Sacramento landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California State University - Sacramento is a large school located in Sacramento, California that handed out 32 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $6,819 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - Sacramento.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music at Sac State

#25

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

San Jose State University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 44 students in 2019-2020.

San Jose State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State University is $10,940 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full San Jose State University Music 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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