2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies
7
Ranked Colleges
307
Degrees Awarded
$31,200
Avg Cost*
When it comes to choosing a college, veterans have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies” ranking is part of that endeavor.
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.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies programs, but they also offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the area studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran satisfaction. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies
The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region vets studying area studies.
Top 7 Best Area Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Plains States Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Missouri - Columbia. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies. Located in Columbia, Missouri, this large public school handed out 70 diplomas to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
Mizzou also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, University of Missouri - Columbia supports 31,089 students, and 5 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 5 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,384. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Missouri - Columbia does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
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 [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Mizzou]](/colleges/university-of-missouri-columbia/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 30 students in 2020-2021.
Iowa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 30,318 students enrolled at Iowa, 1 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Minnesota - 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 not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Among the 52,017 students enrolled at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 752 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 436 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,020. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 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.
Read More…
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies list. Iowa State University is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 16 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
Iowa State also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Of the 31,822 students enrolled at Iowa State University, 814 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 388 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,933. During this same period, 9 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 Iowa State Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Duluth. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies 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.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMN Duluth, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 10,275 students enrolled at University of Minnesota - Duluth, 249 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 88 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,883. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Minnesota - Duluth Veteran Student Life Report
St Olaf College landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies ranking. Located in Northfield, Minnesota, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 28 degrees to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region vets studying area studies list, St. Olaf has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 2,953 students enrolled at St. Olaf, 23 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 10 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $25,252. During this same period, 4 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
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 school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full St. Olaf Veteran Student Life Report
Carleton College did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Area Studies ranking, coming in at #7. 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.
In addition to being on our plains states region vets studying area studies list, Carleton has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 1,940 students enrolled at Carleton, 18 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 14 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $19,697. On top of their other funding sources, 14 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The undergraduate 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. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 Carleton Veteran Student Life 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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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
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