2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Biotechnology (Income $30-$48k) in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Biotech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Biotechnology is the 171st most popular major in the country with 3,585 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, biotechnology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $50,092 and had an average of $32,815 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 246 biotechnology graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,667 and $25,718 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 127 biotechnology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Biotech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in biotechnology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent biotechnology programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the biotechnology program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Biotech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Biotech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Biotech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Biotechnology (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

University of California - Davis

Davis, California

#1 in overall quality

$10,769 Average Net Price

$44,837 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Biotech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. UC Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 56 bachelors’s biotech degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Davis, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Biotechnology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Davis is $10,769 for California Bachelor’s Degree Biotech students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.9% 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 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Biotechnology at University of California - Davis

#2

California State University - San Marcos

San Marcos, California

#3 in overall quality

$10,347 Average Net Price

$45,500 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - San Marcos. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Biotech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. California State University - San Marcos is a public institution located in San Marcos, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUSM also took the #3 spot in our “Best Biotechnology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for CSUSM is $10,347 for california bachelor’s degree biotech students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%.

Read more about Biotechnology at CSUSM

#3

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona, California

#2 in overall quality

$9,630 Average Net Price

$41,565 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Biotech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Cal Poly Pomona is a public institution located in Pomona, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Biotechnology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly Pomona is $9,630 for California Bachelor’s Degree Biotech students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%.

Full Cal Poly Pomona Biotechnology Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Biotechnology (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Biotechnology (Income $30-$48k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Henk Caspers/Naturalis Biodiversity Center.

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