2022 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in Iowa (With Aid)

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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 Iowa, there were 62 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $23,250 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 2 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

The area studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid”.

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 in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa area studies students with aid.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in Iowa (With Aid)

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$15,496 Average Net Price

$46,410 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 14 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State is $15,496 for Iowa Area Studies students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at Iowa State University

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$19,145 Average Net Price

$44,594 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. University of Iowa is a large school located in Iowa City, Iowa that handed out 38 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also took the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $19,145 for Iowa Area Studies students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Iowa Area Studies Report

• Best Value Colleges for Area Studies in the Plains States Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (With Aid)

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.

Featured Political and Social Sciences Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >