2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
With 559,661 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, liberal arts general studies is the 1st most popular major in the United States. 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.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 44,236 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 468 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts general studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts general 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 liberal arts general studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies (With Aid)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas A & M University - Central Texas. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. Texas A & M University - Central Texas is located in Killeen, Texas and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 52 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.
Full Texas A & M University - Central Texas Liberal Arts General Studies Report
Out of the 468 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, The City College of New York landed the #2 spot on the list. CCNY is a public institution located in New York, New York. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 104 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for CCNY is $2,385 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid.
Out of the 468 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, American Public University System landed the #3 spot on the list. American Public University System is a large private for-profit school situated in Charles Town, West Virginia. It awarded 118 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
American Military University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for American Public University System is $10,222 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid.
With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at American Public University System
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Baruch College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. Baruch College is a fairly large public school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 21 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Baruch College is $3,562 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, 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 88%.
Out of the 468 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Los Angeles landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school awarded 180 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend California State University - Los Angeles is $2,768 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid.
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%.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a fairly large school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts that handed out 10 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
MIT did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for MIT is $16,636 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 General Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of South Florida - Main Campus landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Tampa, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 260 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, USF Tampa is also in the top of our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for USF Tampa is $8,355 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at University of South Florida - Main Campus
California State University - Stanislaus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. California State University - Stanislaus is a public institution located in Turlock, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 235 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $6,019 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid per year to attend Stan State.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Stan State
With a ranking of #9, California State University - Northridge did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Northridge, California, and it awarded 320 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend CSUN is $8,414 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
California State University - Fresno came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in Fresno, California, and it awarded 485 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $5,464 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid per year to attend California State University - Fresno.
The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at California State University - Fresno
University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a large public school situated in Seattle, Washington. It awarded 15 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on this list, UW Seattle is in the top on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. It costs about $13,297 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid per year to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, 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%.
Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at University of Washington - Seattle Campus
The University of Texas at Austin came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Austin, Texas, this large public school handed out 245 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Austin, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $18,023 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid per year to attend UT Austin.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at UT Austin
With a ranking of #13, John Jay College of Criminal Justice did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. New York, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend John Jay is $2,532 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid.
Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
California State University - Dominguez Hills came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Carson, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 150 students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills is $4,215 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid.
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%.
Full California State University - Dominguez Hills Liberal Arts General Studies Report
University of Wisconsin - Green Bay came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, this medium-sized public school awarded 103 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.
On top of its placing in this ranking, UW - Green Bay also did well on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. It costs about $14,395 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid per year to attend UW - Green Bay.
Indiana University - Northwest came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Indiana University - Northwest is located in Gary, Indiana and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 55 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.
The yearly cost to attend Indiana University - Northwest is $7,755 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid.
Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at IU Northwest
With a ranking of #17, University of Central Florida did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. University of Central Florida is located in Orlando, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCF is also in the top of our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category. The yearly cost to attend University of Central Florida is $10,274 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid.
The low student loan default rate of 4.2% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Florida International University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Miami, Florida, this large public school awarded 368 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Florida International University is $7,296 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Florida International University
North Carolina State University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. North Carolina State University is a large school located in Raleigh, North Carolina that handed out 27 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
NC State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #21 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend NC State is $16,458 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full North Carolina State University Liberal Arts General Studies Report
Charter Oak State College landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Charter Oak State College is a small school located in New Britain, Connecticut that handed out 188 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on this list, Charter Oak State College is in the top on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category. The estimated yearly cost for Charter Oak State College is $10,724 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid.
The low student loan default rate of 4.1% 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 General Studies at Charter Oak State College
Brigham Young University - Idaho did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #21. This large school is located in Rexburg, Idaho, and it awarded 638 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Brigham Young University - Idaho is $7,167 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Brigham Young University - Idaho
Texas Woman’s University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #22. Denton, Texas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 238 students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $9,617 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid per year to attend TWU.
Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Texas Woman’s University
Southeastern Oklahoma State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #23. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public institution located in Durant, Oklahoma. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 90 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $8,237 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid per year to attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Full Southeastern Oklahoma State University Liberal Arts General Studies Report
California State University - San Bernardino landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. This fairly large school is located in San Bernardino, California, and it awarded 315 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $7,342 for Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students with aid per year to attend California State University - San Bernardino.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at California State University - San Bernardino
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. IU Bloomington is a public institution located in Bloomington, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 238 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, IU Bloomington is also in the top of our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for Indiana University - Bloomington is $13,253 for bachelor’s degree liberal arts students with aid.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Indiana University - Bloomington
Rest of the Best 50 in Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Rest of the Top 15% Colleges in Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
While not in the ‘top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Governors State University | University Park, IL |
| 52 | Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus | Teaneck, NJ |
| 53 | Louisiana State University - Shreveport | Shreveport, LA |
| 54 | Fort Hays State University | Hays, KS |
| 55 | San Diego State University | San Diego, CA |
| 56 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 57 | Florida State University | Tallahassee, FL |
| 58 | Shepherd University | Shepherdstown, WV |
| 59 | Indiana University - South Bend | South Bend, IN |
| 60 | North Carolina A & T State University | Greensboro, NC |
| 61 | Ball State University | Muncie, IN |
| 62 | University of Louisiana at Monroe | Monroe, LA |
| 63 | Southeastern Louisiana University | Hammond, LA |
| 64 | The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, TX |
| 65 | Purdue University Northwest | Hammond, IN |
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 66 | University of Wisconsin - Whitewater | Whitewater, WI |
| 67 | Indiana University - East | Richmond, IN |
| 68 | West Virginia University at Parkersburg | Parkersburg, WV |
| 69 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 70 | California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento, CA |
| 71 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | Lafayette, LA |
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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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