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2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid

5 Ranked Colleges
213 Degrees Awarded
$15,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid” 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 the Rocky Mountains region, there were 231 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,300 and $16,005 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 213 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,111 and $23,874 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer 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.

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 the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in the Rocky Mountains Region (With Aid)

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brigham Young University - Provo. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid list. BYU is a large school located in Provo, Utah that handed out 69 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region bachelor’s degree area studies students with aid list, BYU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend BYU is $13,322 for Rocky Mountains Region Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at BYU

#2

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Utah. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid. University of Utah is a large public school situated in Salt Lake City, Utah. It awarded 25 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

U of U also took the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $14,773 for rocky mountains region bachelor’s degree area studies students with aid per year to attend U of U.

The low 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%. 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 University of Utah Area Studies Report

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Utah State University landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Logan, Utah, and it awarded 54 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

USU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend USU is $13,634 for Rocky Mountains Region Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students with aid.

Read full report on Area Studies at Utah State University

#4

The University of Montana

Missoula, Montana
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Montana. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid. This medium-sized school is located in Missoula, Montana, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UM is $15,246 for rocky mountains region bachelor’s degree area studies students with aid.

Read more about Area Studies at UM

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Colorado Boulder. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Colorado Boulder is a large public school situated in Boulder, Colorado. It awarded 21 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CU - Boulder, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $21,680 for Rocky Mountains Region Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students with aid per year to attend University of Colorado Boulder.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full CU - Boulder Area Studies Report

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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

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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