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2022 Best Value Colleges for Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

4 Ranked Colleges
331 Degrees Awarded
$18,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Journalism Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

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 Journalism Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Journalism is the 62nd most popular major in the country with 14,528 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,042 and had an average of $24,628 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 331 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,175 and $20,697 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in journalism. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality journalism programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

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

More Ways to Rank Journalism Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Journalism Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Journalism Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. Iowa State is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 85 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also made our “Best Journalism Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $10,054 for iowa journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Iowa State.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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 more about Journalism at Iowa State

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 198 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Iowa is $12,975 for Iowa Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 more about Journalism at University of Iowa

#3

Drake University

Des Moines, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Drake University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Drake University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 31 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Drake also made our “Best Journalism Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Drake University is $25,212 for iowa journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. 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 low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 Drake University Journalism Report

#4

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Saint Ambrose University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Davenport, Iowa. It awarded 4 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $23,977 for Iowa Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Saint Ambrose University.

Read more about Journalism at St. Ambrose University

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 Jfurrer.

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