2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value IS Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

Information Science is the 56th most popular major in the country with 18,368 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, information science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $58,848 and had an average of $32,600 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 661 information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $85,900 and $41,259 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 73 information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value IS Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in information science. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great information science programs and 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 information science program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Information Science Schools

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 IS Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value IS Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value IS Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Information Science (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California

#1 in overall quality

$3,756 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value IS Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the #1 spot on the list. California Institute of Technology is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 1 bachelors’s IS degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech also made our “Best Information Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Caltech is $3,756 for far western us region bachelor’s degree is students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Information Science at California Institute of Technology

#2

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California

#2 in overall quality

$9,151 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of California - Riverside is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Information Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCR is $9,151 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree IS students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, 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 91%.

Read more about Information Science at UCR

#3

Western Oregon University

Monmouth, Oregon

#4 in overall quality

$16,858 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Oregon University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value IS Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Monmouth, Oregon, this small public school handed out 21 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s IS students in 2019-2020.

Western Oregon State College also took the #4 spot in our “Best Information Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Western Oregon University is $16,858 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree IS students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Information Science at Western Oregon University

#4

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California

#3 in overall quality

$18,578 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Lutheran University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Thousand Oaks, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 5 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s IS students in 2019-2020.

CLU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Information Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $18,578 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree IS students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California Lutheran University.

The low 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%.

Read more about Information Science at CLU

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Information Science (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 The Opte Project.

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