2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

When it comes to choosing a college, students 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 “Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies is the 30th most popular major in the country with 16,240 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $30,827 and had an average of $22,562 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 179 area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,800 and $24,375 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 95 area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools

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, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” 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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$10,054 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Iowa State University is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to qualified students.

Iowa State also took the #3 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State University is $10,054 for iowa bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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.

Read full report on Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Iowa State University

#2

Grinnell College

Grinnell, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$11,945 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Grinnell College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. Grinnell College is located in Grinnell, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Grinnell, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Grinnell College is $11,945 for iowa bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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%.

Read more about Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Grinnell College

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$12,975 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to 39 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, Iowa has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $12,975 for iowa bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Iowa.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Income $0-$30k)

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 G. Mützel.

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