2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking.
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 Virginia, there were 675 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $26,700 and $28,099 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 528 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking, we looked at 16 colleges that offer a degree in music. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great music 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 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.
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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 Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia
The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia bachelor’s degree music students.
Top 16 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music in Virginia
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Tech. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Blacksburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Virginia Tech, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $21,198 for virginia bachelor’s degree music students per year to attend Virginia Tech.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend James Madison University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. JMU is a large school located in Harrisonburg, Virginia that handed out 77 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
JMU also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for JMU is $22,169 for virginia bachelor’s degree music students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, 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.
Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Virginia - Main Campus is a public institution located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 31 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
University of Virginia also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $20,397 for virginia bachelor’s degree music students per year to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus.
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 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Music at University of Virginia - Main Campus
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. Fairfax, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 55 students in 2019-2020.
GMU also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $21,048 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Music students per year to attend George Mason University.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Radford University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. Radford is a fairly large public school situated in Radford, Virginia. It awarded 25 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
Radford also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $16,447 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Music students per year to attend Radford.
Old Dominion University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Old Dominion is located in Norfolk, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 30 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Old Dominion, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Old Dominion is $16,493 for virginia bachelor’s degree music students.
Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. VCU is a large public school situated in Richmond, Virginia. It awarded 48 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
VCU also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $22,021 for virginia bachelor’s degree music students per year to attend VCU.
The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%.
Christopher Newport University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Christopher Newport University is a public institution located in Newport News, Virginia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
CNU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Christopher Newport University is $25,596 for virginia bachelor’s degree music students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, 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 87%.
University of Mary Washington did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking, coming in at #9. University of Mary Washington is a small school located in Fredericksburg, Virginia that handed out 12 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
UMW not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Mary Washington is $21,907 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Music students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Virginia State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Located in Petersburg, Virginia, this small public school awarded 4 degrees to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Virginia State, the school also landed the #15 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $16,970 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Music students per year to attend Virginia State.
William & Mary did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking, coming in at #11. This medium-sized school is located in Williamsburg, Virginia, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
William & Mary also took the #4 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $19,800 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Music students per year to attend William & Mary.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Liberty University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Lynchburg, Virginia. It awarded 101 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
Liberty University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $28,903 for virginia bachelor’s degree music students per year to attend Liberty University.
With a ranking of #13, Shenandoah University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Shenandoah University is a small school located in Winchester, Virginia that handed out 25 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
Shenandoah not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Shenandoah is $27,124 for virginia bachelor’s degree music students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Mary Baldwin University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Mary Baldwin is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Staunton, Virginia. It awarded 2 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree music students list, Mary Baldwin has also earned the #16 rank in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Mary Baldwin University is $16,982 for virginia bachelor’s degree music students.
Bridgewater College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Bridgewater College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Bridgewater, Virginia. It awarded 9 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
Bridgewater also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #12. The estimated yearly cost for Bridgewater College is $17,929 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Music students.
Hollins University landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Roanoke, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.
Hollins also took the #13 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Hollins University is $20,603 for virginia bachelor’s degree music students.
The low student loan default rate of 4.1% 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%. 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.
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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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