2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in Missouri

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 Missouri For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Missouri, there were 130 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,000 and $26,424 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 112 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,837 and $25,380 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Missouri For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in area studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality area studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the area studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. 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 Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Missouri For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best for missouri 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 Missouri

#1

Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri

#1 in overall quality

$6,248 Average Net Price

$50,465 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Missouri For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington University in St Louis landed the #1 spot on the list. Washington University in St Louis is a fairly large school located in Saint Louis, Missouri that handed out 29 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

WUSTL also made our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Missouri” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend WUSTL is $6,248 for Missouri Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at WUSTL

#2

University of Missouri - Columbia

Columbia, Missouri

#2 in overall quality

$11,595 Average Net Price

$38,649 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Missouri For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Missouri - Columbia landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Columbia, Missouri, this large public school awarded 76 degrees to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

Mizzou did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Missouri” list. The yearly cost to attend Mizzou is $11,595 for Missouri Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Mizzou Area Studies Report

#3

Saint Louis University

Saint Louis, Missouri

#3 in overall quality

$21,082 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Louis University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Missouri For Those Making $30-$48k list. SLU is located in Saint Louis, Missouri and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

SLU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Missouri” list. The estimated yearly cost for Saint Louis University is $21,082 for Missouri Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, 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 90%.

Read full report on Area Studies at Saint Louis University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States 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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