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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $48-$75k) in Minnesota

5 Ranked Colleges
85 Degrees Awarded
$25,800 Avg Salary
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 Minnesota, there were 90 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,800 and $20,950 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 85 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,526 and $26,035 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 5 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k” 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. 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 Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $48-$75k) in Minnesota

#1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 5 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our minnesota bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k list, UMN Twin Cities has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Minnesota” ranking. It costs about $12,556 for minnesota bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Area Studies Report

#2

Carleton College

Northfield, Minnesota

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Carleton College landed the #2 spot on the list. Northfield, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Carleton, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Minnesota” ranking. It costs about $16,716 for minnesota bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Carleton.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Carleton College Area Studies Report

#3

St Olaf College

Northfield, Minnesota

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Olaf College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k list. This small school is located in Northfield, Minnesota, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

St. Olaf did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Minnesota” list. The yearly cost to attend St Olaf College is $17,577 for minnesota bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%.

Full St. Olaf Area Studies Report

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Duluth. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Minnesota - Duluth is a public institution located in Duluth, Minnesota. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UMN Duluth did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Minnesota” list. The yearly cost to attend UMN Duluth is $12,438 for minnesota bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at University of Minnesota - Duluth

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Minnesota State University - Mankato. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Minnesota For Those Making $48-$75k list. Mankato, Minnesota is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our minnesota bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k list, Minnesota State Mankato has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Minnesota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Minnesota State University - Mankato is $14,451 for minnesota bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.4% 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 full report on Area Studies at Minnesota State Mankato

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.

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