2023 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region
7
Ranked Colleges
307
Degrees Awarded
$11,500
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.
In 2020-2021, 6,966 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,127 and had an average of $20,927 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Plains States region, there were 307 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,952 and $25,098 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 7 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.
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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank Area Studies 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 Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college 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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k
The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.
Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Carleton College landed the #1 spot on the list. Northfield, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 15 students in 2020-2021.
Carleton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Carleton College is $13,410 for Plains States Region Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 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 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Area Studies at Carleton
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Duluth. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Minnesota - Duluth is a medium-sized school located in Duluth, Minnesota that handed out 10 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UMN Duluth also took the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $8,697 for Plains States Region Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UMN Duluth.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.
Read full report on Area Studies at University of Minnesota - Duluth
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. UMN Twin Cities is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
UMN Twin Cities also took the #7 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMN Twin Cities is $8,609 for plains states region area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Full University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Area Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Olaf College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. St Olaf College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Northfield, Minnesota. It awarded 28 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
St. Olaf did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for St Olaf College is $11,138 for Plains States Region Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full St Olaf College Area Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Missouri - Columbia. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Mizzou is a large school located in Columbia, Missouri that handed out 70 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Mizzou also took the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $11,386 for Plains States Region Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Mizzou.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Area Studies at Mizzou
Iowa State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 16 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State University is $11,427 for Plains States Region Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Area Studies at Iowa State University
University of Iowa ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 30 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
Iowa also took the #5 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $15,508 for Plains States Region Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Iowa.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 Iowa
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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
- *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.
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