2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 6,820 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 106th most popular in the United States. 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 Maryland, there were 151 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,500 and $22,237 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 117 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,371 and $23,982 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great area studies 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 area studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for maryland bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in Maryland

#1

University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, Maryland

#1 in overall quality

$12,128 Average Net Price

$41,565 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Maryland - College Park. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Maryland - College Park is a large public school situated in College Park, Maryland. It awarded 25 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UMCP also made our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $12,128 for maryland bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UMCP.

With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 more about Area Studies at University of Maryland - College Park

#2

Towson University

Towson, Maryland

#3 in overall quality

$12,632 Average Net Price

$46,790 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Towson University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k. Towson University is a large public school situated in Towson, Maryland. It awarded 12 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Towson, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” ranking. It costs about $12,632 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Towson.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 3.8% 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%.

Read more about Area Studies at Towson University

#3

University of Maryland - Baltimore County

Baltimore, Maryland

#4 in overall quality

$12,605 Average Net Price

$28,236 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland - Baltimore County. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k list. UMBC is a fairly large school located in Baltimore, Maryland that handed out 18 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our maryland bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, UMBC has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” ranking. It costs about $12,605 for maryland bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Maryland - Baltimore County.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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 Area Studies at University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (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 Karl Udo Gerth.

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