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2022 Best Value Colleges for Music in Iowa (With Aid)

10 Ranked Colleges
285 Degrees Awarded
$22,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Iowa, there were 285 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,400 and $28,465 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in music. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent music 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 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. 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 Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Music in Iowa (With Aid)

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Northern Iowa. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid. University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 40 ’s music degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNI, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Music Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Northern Iowa is $15,620 for Iowa Music students with aid.

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 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UNI Music Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid. Located in Ames, Iowa, this large public school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified ’s music students in 2019-2020.

Iowa State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Music Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $15,496 for iowa music students with aid per year to attend Iowa State University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, 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.

Full Iowa State University Music Report

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. University of Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 90 ’s music degrees to qualified students.

Iowa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Music Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Iowa is $19,145 for iowa music students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The low student loan default rate of 3.5% 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 Iowa

#4

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Luther College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. Luther College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Decorah, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 52 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa music students with aid list, Luther has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Music Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Luther is $23,620 for Iowa Music students with aid.

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%.

Read full report on Music at Luther

#5

Coe College

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Coe College landed the #5 spot on the list. Coe is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 ’s music degrees to qualified students.

Coe also made our “Best Music Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend Coe is $19,955 for Iowa Music students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music at Coe

#6

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa

Clarke University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. This small school is located in Dubuque, Iowa, and it awarded 1 ’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

Clarke not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Music Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Clarke is $34,204 for Iowa Music students with aid.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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 full report on Music at Clarke University

#7

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa

Grand View University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. Grand View University is located in Des Moines, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 ’s music degrees to qualified students.

Grand View University also made our “Best Music Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for Grand View University is $19,826 for iowa music students with aid.

Full Grand View University Music Report

#8

Drake University

Des Moines, Iowa

Drake University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 17 degrees to qualified ’s music students in 2019-2020.

Drake not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Music Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Drake University is $29,432 for Iowa Music students with aid.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Music at Drake University

#9

Grinnell College

Grinnell, Iowa

With a ranking of #9, Grinnell College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. Grinnell is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Grinnell, Iowa. It awarded 10 ’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

Grinnell also made our “Best Music Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #7. The yearly cost to attend Grinnell is $22,486 for Iowa Music students with aid.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. 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%.

Full Grinnell Music Report

#10

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

Saint Ambrose University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Davenport, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s music degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University also made our “Best Music Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #10. It costs about $26,204 for Iowa Music students with aid per year to attend Saint Ambrose University.

Full St. Ambrose University Music Report

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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