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2023 Best Value Colleges for Music in Virginia (With Aid)

11 Ranked Colleges
632 Degrees Awarded
$22,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Music is the 43rd most popular major in the country with 25,910 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, music graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $27,160 and had an average of $24,560 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 632 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,058 and $26,582 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” 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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia music students with aid.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Music in Virginia (With Aid)

1
University of Virginia crest
University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, Virginia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. University of Virginia - Main Campus is a large school located in Charlottesville, Virginia that handed out 46 ’s music degrees in 2020-2021.

University of Virginia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus is $22,006 for Virginia Music students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Virginia Music Report

2
JMU crest
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend James Madison University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and it awarded 77 ’s music degrees in 2020-2021.

JMU also made our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $22,562 for Virginia Music students with aid per year to attend James Madison University.

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%. 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 JMU

3
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Tech landed the #3 spot on the list. Virginia Tech is located in Blacksburg, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 19 ’s music degrees to qualified students.

Virginia Tech also took the #3 spot in our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Virginia Tech is $21,301 for virginia music students with aid.

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 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%.

Full Virginia Tech Music Report

4
Radford crest
Radford University
Radford, Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Radford University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. Radford University is a medium-sized public school situated in Radford, Virginia. It awarded 29 ’s music degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our virginia music students with aid list, Radford has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Radford University is $16,505 for Virginia Music students with aid.

Read more about Music at Radford University

5
GMU crest
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, George Mason University landed the #5 spot on the list. Fairfax, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s music degrees to 83 students in 2020-2021.

GMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for George Mason University is $19,551 for virginia music students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music at George Mason University

6
Old Dominion crest
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, Virginia

With a ranking of #6, Old Dominion University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Old Dominion University is a large public school situated in Norfolk, Virginia. It awarded 26 ’s music degrees in 2020-2021.

Old Dominion also made our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #10. It costs about $17,204 for Virginia Music students with aid per year to attend Old Dominion University.

Read full report on Music at Old Dominion University

7

With a ranking of #7, Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Richmond, Virginia, this large public school awarded 50 diplomas to qualified ’s music students in 2020-2021.

VCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend VCU is $20,490 for Virginia Music students with aid.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.

Full VCU Music Report

8
UMW crest
University of Mary Washington
Fredericksburg, Virginia

University of Mary Washington ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. University of Mary Washington is a small school located in Fredericksburg, Virginia that handed out 12 ’s music degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our virginia music students with aid list, UMW has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMW is $23,193 for virginia music students with aid.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Mary Washington Music Report

9
Shenandoah crest
Shenandoah University
Winchester, Virginia

Shenandoah University landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking. Shenandoah is located in Winchester, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 67 ’s music degrees to qualified students.

Shenandoah also made our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend Shenandoah University is $30,878 for virginia music students with aid.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 Shenandoah University

10
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia

Liberty University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking. Liberty University is located in Lynchburg, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 119 ’s music degrees to qualified students.

Liberty University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $29,382 for virginia music students with aid per year to attend Liberty University.

Read full report on Music at Liberty University

11
CNU crest
Christopher Newport University
Newport News, Virginia

Christopher Newport University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Music Schools in Virginia For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #11. Christopher Newport University is located in Newport News, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 ’s music degrees to qualified students.

CNU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Music Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $25,855 for Virginia Music students with aid per year to attend CNU.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Christopher Newport University Music Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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