2021 Best Colleges for the Money (With No Aid) in South Dakota
It's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. College Factual has developed its Best South Dakota Schools For The Money For Those With No Aid ranking as one tool you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 11 colleges and universities to determine which were the best for overall value for the money with no aid in South Dakota. This ranking isn't just a listing of 'cheap' schools. Instead, it is noting which schools offer a high quality education for a reasonable price. Because of this, it is possible for one college to rank better than another, even if the latter college has a lower average cost.
See what other factors we include in our ranking methodology.
To calculate the average cost amount, we sum up the total expenses to attend a school - such as tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other living expenses. This estimate is meant to give you a better picture of how much money you'll have to pay each year, either through self-pay, loans, or external scholarships.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
We know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location and field of study as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors, such as those of importance to veterans and returning adults or those seeking diversity and overall quality.
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. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another!
Top Colleges for the Money (Without Aid) in South Dakota
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
South Dakota State University tops this year’s ranking as the best school for overall value for the money with no aid in South Dakota. South Dakota State is located in Brookings, South Dakota and has a fairly large student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 2,026 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
It takes about 4.4 years for the average student at South Dakota State to complete their degree, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $22,313 for students who receive no aid. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the South Dakota State is $98,177. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. South Dakota State not only placed well in our value rankings, but it is also #3 on our Best Colleges in South Dakota list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Dakota. It ranked #2 on our 2021 Best Value Colleges in South Dakota list. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, the medium-sized public school handed out 1,352 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At U of South Dakota, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.4 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $23,399 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from U of South Dakota be around $102,020. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. U of South Dakota also made our Best Colleges in South Dakota list, coming in at #4.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for the money in South Dakota. SD Mines is a small public school situated in Rapid City, South Dakota. It awarded 465 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at SD Mines graduates in less than 4.8 years, and it costs students who receive no aid about $25,980 per year to attend the school. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from SD Mines is $125,483. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. SD Mines also made our Best Colleges in South Dakota list, coming in at #2.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern State University. It ranked #4 on our 2021 Best Value Colleges in South Dakota list. NSU is located in Aberdeen, South Dakota and has a small student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 305 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
It takes about 4.5 years for the average student at NSU to complete their degree, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $23,075 for students who receive no aid. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the NSU is $104,068. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, NSU is ranked #5 for overall quality in South Dakota.
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A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list means Dakota State University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Dakota State is a public institution located in Madison, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 307 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at Dakota State about 4.6 years to graduate, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $22,574 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from Dakota State is $104,292. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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With a ranking of #6, Augustana University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list. Augustana Sioux Falls is a private not-for-profit institution located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 442 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At Augustana Sioux Falls, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.3 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $48,076 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from Augustana Sioux Falls is $205,285. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. Augustana Sioux Falls also made our Best Colleges in South Dakota list, coming in at #1.
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With a ranking of #7, Black Hills State University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list. Black Hills State University is a small public school located in Spearfish, South Dakota that handed out 438 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At BHSU, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.7 years, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $21,851. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from BHSU be around $101,826. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
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With a ranking of #8, University of Sioux Falls did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list. University of Sioux Falls is a small private not-for-profit school located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota that handed out 363 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at University of Sioux Falls about 4.4 years to graduate, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $31,140 for students who receive no aid. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sioux Falls is $136,393. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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Dakota Wesleyan University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota ranking. Dakota Wesleyan University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Mitchell, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 187 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Dakota Wesleyan University graduates in less than 4.2 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $38,900 for students who receive no aid. This means that the average student pays around $165,325 to get a bachelor’s degree from Dakota Wesleyan University. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
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With a ranking of #10, Mount Marty College did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Yankton, South Dakota, and it awarded 119 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Mount Marty graduates in less than 4.2 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $41,898 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Mount Marty is $175,972. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
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Presentation College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota ranking. Located in Aberdeen, South Dakota, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 163 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At Presentation College, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.2 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $35,352 for students who receive no aid. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the Presentation College is $149,892. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 11 schools only.
- For our state-specific rankings, we use in-state tuition to calculate average cost. For our national and regional rankings, we use a weighted average of in-state and non-resident tuition.
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%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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