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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Virginia (With Aid)

5 Ranked Colleges
151 Degrees Awarded
$21,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Virginia For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking.

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 Virginia, there were 177 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,775 and $21,966 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 151 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia 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.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the area studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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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 Virginia For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Virginia (With Aid)

#1

William & Mary

Williamsburg, Virginia
#1 in overall quality
$19,800 Average Net Price
$36,042 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend William & Mary. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. William & Mary is a public institution located in Williamsburg, Virginia. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at William & Mary, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for William & Mary is $19,800 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full William & Mary Area Studies Report

#2

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia
#3 in overall quality
$20,397 Average Net Price
$29,685 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. University of Virginia is a large school located in Charlottesville, Virginia that handed out 2 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Virginia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $20,397 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students with aid per year to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Full University of Virginia - Main Campus Area Studies Report

#3

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia
#4 in overall quality
$21,048 Average Net Price
$37,568 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid. Fairfax, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

GMU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $21,048 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students with aid per year to attend GMU.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at George Mason University

#4

University of Richmond

University of Richmond, Virginia
#2 in overall quality
$25,838 Average Net Price
$30,771 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Richmond. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. URichmond is located in University of Richmond, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 33 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at URichmond, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Richmond is $25,838 for virginia bachelor’s degree area studies students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full University of Richmond Area Studies Report

#5

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia
#5 in overall quality
$22,021 Average Net Price
$27,874 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Richmond, Virginia, and it awarded 57 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

VCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $22,021 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students with aid per year to attend VCU.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 Virginia Commonwealth University

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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