2022 Best Value Optometry Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 1,666 people earned their degree in optometry, making the major the 193rd most popular in the United States. 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 Southwest region, there were 234 optometry graduates with average earnings and debt of $88,067 and $172,300 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Optometry Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Optometry Schools

The optometry 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 Optometry Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Optometry Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region optometry students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Optometry (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region

#1

University of Houston

Houston, Texas

#2 in overall quality

$12,505 Average Net Price

$46,964 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Houston. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Optometry Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k. Located in Houston, Texas, this large public school awarded 95 degrees to qualified ’s optometry students in 2019-2020.

UH also made our “Best Optometry Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $12,505 for Southwest Region Optometry students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UH.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of Houston Optometry Report

#2

Northeastern State University

Tahlequah, Oklahoma

#4 in overall quality

$11,683 Average Net Price

$39,093 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northeastern State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Optometry Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k. NSU is located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 28 ’s optometry degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our southwest region optometry students whose families make $48-$75k list, NSU has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Optometry Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $11,683 for Southwest Region Optometry students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend NSU.

Full Northeastern State University Optometry Report

#3

University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, Texas

#3 in overall quality

$25,383 Average Net Price

$49,167 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of the Incarnate Word. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Optometry Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. UIW is a private not-for-profit institution located in San Antonio, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 59 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIW also made our “Best Optometry Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for UIW is $25,383 for Southwest Region Optometry students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full UIW Optometry Report

• Best Value Colleges for Optometry (Income $48-$75k)

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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