2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.
Liberal Arts is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 2nd of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 365,980 degrees were awarded to students with this major.
Across Pennsylvania, there were 2,349 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 873 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 17 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in liberal arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality liberal arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the liberal arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 17 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k) in Pennsylvania
Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Carnegie Mellon University landed the #1 spot on the list. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.
Carnegie Mellon also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $12,542 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Carnegie Mellon.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at Carnegie Mellon University
Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Bradford landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Bradford, Pennsylvania, this small public school handed out 9 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Pitt Bradford, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $14,937 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Pittsburgh - Bradford.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at University of Pittsburgh - Bradford
Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania landed the #3 spot on the list. Mansfield University is located in Mansfield, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 24 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
Mansfield University also took the #14 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $15,083 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Mansfield University.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
Pitt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $20,075 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default 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.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Chester University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. West Chester, Pennsylvania is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to 161 students in 2019-2020.
WCUPA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend West Chester University of Pennsylvania is $16,531 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.4% 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 full report on Liberal Arts at West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Edinboro, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to 47 students in 2019-2020.
Edinboro not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend Edinboro is $13,169 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
Full Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Liberal Arts Report
With a ranking of #7, California University of Pennsylvania did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. California, Pennsylvania is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to 55 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal U, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $14,841 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cal U.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at California University of Pennsylvania
Clarion University of Pennsylvania came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Clarion University of Pennsylvania is a small school located in Clarion, Pennsylvania that handed out 146 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
Clarion University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend Clarion University is $16,235 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a ranking of #9, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is located in Cheyney, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #15. The estimated yearly cost for Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is $7,388 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
Villanova University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #10. Located in Villanova, Pennsylvania, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 29 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.
Villanova did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for Villanova University is $22,517 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Lock Haven University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 17 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at LHU, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend LHU is $16,690 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
Drexel University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Drexel is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 76 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Drexel, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $25,234 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Drexel.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
With a ranking of #13, Saint Joseph’s University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 21 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.
St. Joe’s did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $26,603 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Saint Joseph’s University.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 3.2% 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 full report on Liberal Arts at Saint Joseph’s University
Manor College landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 3 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Manor College, the school also landed the #16 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Manor College is $16,002 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
University of Scranton did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #15. University of Scranton is a small school located in Scranton, Pennsylvania that handed out 17 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.
University of Scranton also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $24,159 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Scranton.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national 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.
Neumann University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #16. Neumann University is located in Aston, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 67 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
Neumann did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $19,878 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Neumann.
With a ranking of #17, Lackawanna College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.
Lackawanna College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #17 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for Lackawanna College is $16,635 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k.
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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).
- 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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