2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 14,528 people earned their degree in journalism, making the major the 62nd most popular in the United States. 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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 270 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in journalism. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent journalism programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the journalism program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $48-$75k) in Iowa

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$14,161 Average Net Price

$37,136 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k list. Iowa State is a public institution located in Ames, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 77 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also took the #3 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State is $14,161 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 University

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$18,272 Average Net Price

$38,000 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 146 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also took the #1 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $18,272 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 Journalism at Iowa

#3

Drake University

Des Moines, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$26,589 Average Net Price

$36,992 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Drake University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k list. Drake University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Des Moines, Iowa. It awarded 31 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Drake also made our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Drake is $26,589 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students whose families make $48-$75k.

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. 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Journalism at Drake University

#4

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$27,002 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Ambrose University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Davenport, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University also made our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Saint Ambrose University is $27,002 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Journalism at St. Ambrose University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $48-$75k)

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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