2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k
188
Ranked Colleges
18,325
Degrees Awarded
$5,400
Avg Net Price*
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 IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Information Science is the 58th most popular major in the country with 18,325 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, information science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $59,394 and had an average of $28,852 in loans still to pay off.
For this year’s “Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 188 colleges that offer a degree in information science. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality information science programs that also have a lower cost than 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 information science program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 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 IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 100 ’s IS degrees to qualified students.
Northwestern also took the #2 spot in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. It costs about $245 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northwestern University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Information Science at Northwestern University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Johns Hopkins University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Baltimore, Maryland is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s IS degrees to 74 students in 2020-2021.
Johns Hopkins did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Information Science Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Johns Hopkins University is $2,084 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Information Science at Johns Hopkins University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this large public school awarded 390 degrees to qualified ’s IS students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our is students whose families make $0-$30k list, U-M has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for U-M is $2,670 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 full report on Information Science at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Out of the 188 schools in the Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #4 spot on the list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 388 ’s IS degrees in 2020-2021.
UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Information Science Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $4,858 for is students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Information Science Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Harvard University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k. Cambridge, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s IS degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.
Harvard did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Information Science Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Harvard is $2,564 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Information Science at Harvard
University of California - Berkeley did quite well in the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. UC Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 373 ’s IS degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. It costs about $8,450 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Berkeley.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
Read full report on Information Science at UC Berkeley
University of Chicago landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UChicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 5 ’s IS degrees in 2020-2021.
UChicago also took the #23 spot in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. It costs about $2,500 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Chicago.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Information Science at UChicago
California Institute of Technology ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 6 ’s IS degrees in 2020-2021.
Caltech also took the #10 spot in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Caltech is $-539 for is students whose families make $0-$30k. The negative number means the student will receive more financial aid on average than it costs to attend the school.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Information Science at Caltech
University of Maryland - College Park came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UMCP is located in College Park, Maryland and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 674 ’s IS degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMCP, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. It costs about $6,067 for is students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UMCP.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 UMCP Information Science Report
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Chapel Hill, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s IS degrees to 111 students in 2020-2021.
UNC Chapel Hill did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #24 on our “Best Information Science Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $3,753 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 Information Science at UNC Chapel Hill
University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is located in Seattle, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 212 ’s IS degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our is students whose families make $0-$30k list, UW Seattle has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UW Seattle is $5,194 for is students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Information Science at University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Boston College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 102 degrees to qualified ’s IS students in 2020-2021.
Boston College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Information Science Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Boston College is $10,212 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Information Science at Boston College
Bunker Hill Community College did quite well in the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #13. Boston, Massachusetts is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s IS degrees to 24 students in 2020-2021.
BHCC also made our “Best Information Science Schools” list, coming in at #16. It costs about $7,349 for is students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend BHCC.
Full Bunker Hill Community College Information Science Report
Baruch College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 285 ’s IS degrees in 2020-2021.
The yearly cost to attend Baruch is $493 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Baruch Information Science Report
With a ranking of #15, Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Atlanta, Georgia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s IS degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our is students whose families make $0-$30k list, Georgia Tech has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. It costs about $8,818 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, 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 97%.
Read more about Information Science at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus
Ivy Tech Community College landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Indianapolis, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s IS degrees to 384 students in 2020-2021.
Ivy Tech Community College excels when it comes to IS quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our “Best Information Science Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Ivy Tech Community College is $6,213 for is students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Information Science at Ivy Tech Community College
Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Columbia is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 11 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Columbia also took the #19 spot in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Columbia University in the City of New York is $9,873 for is students whose families make $0-$30k.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Information Science at Columbia
Florida State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Tallahassee, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s IS degrees to 115 students in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for Florida State University is $4,950 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Information Science at Florida State University
The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #19. This large school is located in Austin, Texas, and it awarded 132 ’s IS degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our is students whose families make $0-$30k list, UT Austin has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at Austin is $13,753 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Information Science at UT Austin
With a ranking of #20, University of South Florida - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. USF Tampa is located in Tampa, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 22 ’s IS degrees to qualified students.
The yearly cost to attend University of South Florida - Main Campus is $4,176 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full USF Tampa Information Science Report
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 23 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
On top of its placing in this ranking, UMN Twin Cities also did well on our “Best Information Science Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our “Best Information Science Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for UMN Twin Cities is $7,698 for is students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 full report on Information Science at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Cuyahoga Community College District landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Cleveland, Ohio, and it awarded 51 ’s IS degrees in 2020-2021.
It costs about $3,141 for is students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cuyahoga Community College District.
Read more about Information Science at Cuyahoga Community College District
Hudson Valley Community College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. HVCC is a public institution located in Troy, New York. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 70 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for HVCC is $5,419 for is students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Information Science at Hudson Valley Community College
Brooklyn College ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Brooklyn, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s IS degrees to 52 students in 2020-2021.
It costs about $1,547 for is students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Brooklyn College.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Brooklyn College Information Science Report
Boston University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value IS Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Boston U is a private not-for-profit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 286 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our is students whose families make $0-$30k list, Boston U has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Information Science Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Boston University is $12,982 for IS students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Information Science at Boston University
