2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $48-$75k) in California

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 Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Natural Sciences is the 209th most popular major in the country with 2,345 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 California, there were 84 natural sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $25,000 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 83 natural sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent natural sciences 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 natural sciences 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree natural sciences students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $48-$75k) in California

#1

California State University - Chico

Chico, California

#3 in overall quality

$16,116 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Chico. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k. 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 also made our “Best Natural Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $16,116 for California Bachelor’s Degree Natural Sciences students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend California State University - Chico.

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%.

Read full report on Natural Sciences at Chico State

#2

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California

#2 in overall quality

$31,918 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pepperdine University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Malibu, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s natural sciences degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

Pepperdine also took the #2 spot in our “Best Natural Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Pepperdine is $31,918 for California Bachelor’s Degree Natural Sciences students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Natural Sciences at Pepperdine University

#3

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$34,284 Average Net Price

$33,459 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loyola Marymount University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s natural sciences degrees to 46 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree natural sciences students whose families make $48-$75k list, Loyola Marymount has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Natural Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Loyola Marymount is $34,284 for california bachelor’s degree natural sciences students whose families make $48-$75k.

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. 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%.

Full Loyola Marymount Natural Sciences Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences (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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Agsftw.

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