2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences in California (With Aid)

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Getting Aid” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great natural sciences programs and cost less that 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 California For Those Getting Aid”.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree natural sciences students with aid.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences in California (With Aid)

#1

California State University - Chico

Chico, California

#3 in overall quality

$15,017 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 Getting Aid. Located in Chico, California, this fairly large public school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s natural sciences students in 2019-2020.

Chico State also took the #3 spot in our “Best Natural Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Chico is $15,017 for california bachelor’s degree natural sciences students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Chico Natural Sciences Report

#2

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$42,861 Average Net Price

$33,459 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Natural Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Loyola Marymount University landed the #2 spot on the list. 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.

Loyola Marymount also made our “Best Natural Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $42,861 for California Bachelor’s Degree Natural Sciences students with aid per year to attend Loyola Marymount.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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%.

Read more about Natural Sciences at Loyola Marymount University

#3

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California

#2 in overall quality

$36,996 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 California For Those Getting Aid. Pepperdine is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Malibu, California. It awarded 1 bachelors’s natural sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Pepperdine also made our “Best Natural Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Pepperdine is $36,996 for california bachelor’s degree natural sciences students with aid.

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 full report on Natural Sciences at Pepperdine University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences in the Far Western US Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Sciences (With Aid)

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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