2022 Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 2,345 people earned their degree in natural sciences, making the major the 209th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, natural sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $30,257 and had an average of $22,289 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 270 natural sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,900 and $22,125 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 85 natural sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality natural sciences 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 natural sciences 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

The natural sciences 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 Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

California State University - Chico

Chico, California

#3 in overall quality

$10,260 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Chico. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Chico, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s natural sciences degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

Chico State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Natural Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Chico is $10,260 for far western us region bachelor’s degree natural sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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 Chico State Natural Sciences Report

#2

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$32,367 Average Net Price

$33,459 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Loyola Marymount University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 46 degrees to qualified bachelors’s natural sciences students in 2019-2020.

Loyola Marymount not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Natural Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Loyola Marymount University is $32,367 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Natural Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Loyola Marymount Natural Sciences Report

#3

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California

#2 in overall quality

$31,185 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Pepperdine University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Pepperdine University is located in Malibu, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s natural sciences degrees to qualified students.

Pepperdine also made our “Best Natural Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Pepperdine University is $31,185 for far western us region bachelor’s degree natural sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 more about Natural Sciences at Pepperdine

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences (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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Agsftw.

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