2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Area Studies is the 106th most popular major in the country with 6,820 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,734 and had an average of $23,024 in loans still to pay off.

Across New Jersey, there were 97 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,400 and $24,250 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 49 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,288 and $24,807 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies 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 area studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The area studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey For Those Making $0-$30k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our 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 Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $0-$30k) in New Jersey

#1

Ramapo College of New Jersey

Mahwah, New Jersey

#1 in overall quality

$11,355 Average Net Price

$38,289 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ramapo College of New Jersey. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Mahwah, New Jersey, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Ramapo College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” list. The yearly cost to attend Ramapo College of New Jersey is $11,355 for new jersey bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at Ramapo College of New Jersey

#2

Rutgers University - New Brunswick

New Brunswick, New Jersey

#2 in overall quality

$13,545 Average Net Price

$28,598 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Rutgers University - New Brunswick landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in New Brunswick, New Jersey, this large public school handed out 16 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

Rutgers New Brunswick also made our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $13,545 for New Jersey Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Rutgers University - New Brunswick.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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.

Full Rutgers University - New Brunswick Area Studies Report

#3

William Paterson University of New Jersey

Wayne, New Jersey

#3 in overall quality

$18,910 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend William Paterson University of New Jersey. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey For Those Making $0-$30k list. Wayne, New Jersey is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

William Paterson University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” list. The estimated yearly cost for William Paterson University of New Jersey is $18,910 for New Jersey Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.

Read more about Area Studies at William Paterson University of New Jersey

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $0-$30k)

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 Karl Udo Gerth.

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