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2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k

20 Ranked Colleges
949 Degrees Awarded
$17,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor's in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 559,661 liberal arts general studies students received their degree, making the major the 1st most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, liberal arts general studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across Pennsylvania, there were 3,750 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,748 and $20,831 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 949 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 20 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great liberal arts general studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the liberal arts general studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts General Studies Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 20 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies (Income $30-$48k) in Pennsylvania

#1

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 10 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

UPenn did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Pennsylvania is $4,833 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at UPenn

#2

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Carnegie Mellon University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k. Carnegie Mellon University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 17 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Carnegie Mellon not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $13,782 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k 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%. 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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Carnegie Mellon Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#3

University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown

Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Out of the 20 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown is a public institution located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Pitt Johnstown also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #14. The yearly cost to attend Pitt Johnstown is $16,998 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%.

Full Pitt Johnstown Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#4

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania

Mansfield, Pennsylvania

Out of the 20 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania landed the #4 spot on the list. Mansfield University is a small school located in Mansfield, Pennsylvania that handed out 24 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Mansfield University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is $16,252 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania

#5

University of Pittsburgh - Bradford

Bradford, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pittsburgh - Bradford. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k list. Bradford, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

Pitt Bradford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Pittsburgh - Bradford is $15,476 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 Pitt Bradford Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#6

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

West Chester, Pennsylvania

West Chester University of Pennsylvania came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, this fairly large public school awarded 161 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k list, WCUPA has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $17,966 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at WCUPA

#7

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

Cheyney, Pennsylvania

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, this small public school handed out 6 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania also took the #18 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is $8,609 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

#8

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

Edinboro, Pennsylvania

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Edinboro University of Pennsylvania is located in Edinboro, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 47 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

Edinboro also took the #16 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Edinboro University of Pennsylvania is $13,986 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Edinboro

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

Pitt did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is $21,011 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Full Pitt Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#10

California University of Pennsylvania

California, Pennsylvania

California University of Pennsylvania came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Cal U is a public institution located in California, Pennsylvania. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 55 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal U also took the #9 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California University of Pennsylvania is $14,428 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Cal U

#11

Clarion University of Pennsylvania

Clarion, Pennsylvania

Clarion University of Pennsylvania came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Clarion University of Pennsylvania is a public institution located in Clarion, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 146 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Clarion University also took the #11 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Clarion University of Pennsylvania is $17,224 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Clarion University

#12

Eastern University

Saint Davids, Pennsylvania
#10 in overall quality

Eastern University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #12. Saint Davids, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

EU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $18,260 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend EU.

Full Eastern University Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#13

Saint Joseph's University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Saint Joseph’s University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. St. Joe’s is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k list, St. Joe’s has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $25,012 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend St. Joe’s.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at St. Joe’s

#14

Lock Haven University

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania

Lock Haven University landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, this small public school handed out 17 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

LHU also took the #15 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $17,281 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Lock Haven University.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at LHU

#15

Villanova University

Villanova, Pennsylvania

Villanova University landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Villanova, Pennsylvania is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 52 students in 2019-2020.

Villanova also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Villanova University is $21,359 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Villanova University

#16

University of Scranton

Scranton, Pennsylvania

University of Scranton landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. University of Scranton is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It awarded 17 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Scranton, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Scranton is $24,686 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 1.9% 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 Liberal Arts General Studies at University of Scranton

#17

Manor College

Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
#19 in overall quality

With a ranking of #17, Manor College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k list. Manor College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. It awarded 3 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Manor College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #19 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend Manor College is $16,436 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Manor College Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#18

Drexel University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Drexel University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Drexel University is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 77 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k list, Drexel has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Drexel University is $27,057 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Drexel

#19

Neumann University

Aston, Pennsylvania

Neumann University landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Neumann is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Aston, Pennsylvania. It awarded 67 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k list, Neumann has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $21,636 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Neumann.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Neumann

#20

Lackawanna College

Scranton, Pennsylvania
#20 in overall quality

With a ranking of #20, Lackawanna College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k list. This small school is located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Lackawanna College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #20 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $17,256 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Lackawanna College.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Lackawanna College

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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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