2022 Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Optometry is the 193rd most popular major in the country with 1,666 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, optometry graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $83,824 and had an average of $167,326 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southeast region, there were 293 optometry graduates with average earnings and debt of $76,967 and $163,527 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 293 optometry graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,978 and $116,300 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in optometry. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great optometry programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the optometry program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for southeast region doctor’s degree optometry students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Optometry (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region

#1

University of Pikeville

Pikeville, Kentucky

#3 in overall quality

$8,100 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Pikeville. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Pikeville, Kentucky, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 36 degrees to qualified doctorate’s optometry students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southeast region doctor’s degree optometry students whose families make $0-$30k list, UPIKE has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Optometry Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UPIKE are $8,100, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Optometry at University of Pikeville

#2

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

#1 in overall quality

$19,188 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Alabama at Birmingham landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Alabama at Birmingham is a large public school situated in Birmingham, Alabama. It awarded 41 doctorate’s optometry degrees in 2019-2020.

UAB also took the #1 spot in our “Best Optometry Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Alabama at Birmingham are $19,188.

Read full report on Optometry at UAB

#3

Nova Southeastern University

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

#2 in overall quality

$22,242 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$99,069 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Nova Southeastern University landed the #3 spot on the list. Nova Southeastern University is a large school located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that handed out 87 doctorate’s optometry degrees in 2019-2020.

NUS Florida also made our “Best Optometry Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at NUS Florida are $22,242, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Optometry at Nova Southeastern University

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Optometry (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.

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