2023 Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2020-2021, 1,095 people earned their degree in science, technology and society, making the major the 232nd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, science, technology and society graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $41,177 and had an average of $22,529 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 87 science, technology and society graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in science, technology and society. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality science, technology and society programs that also have a lower cost than 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 science, technology and society program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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 Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (Income $0-$30k) in California

1

Stanford University
Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$1,233 Average Net Price

$83,159 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Stanford University is located in Stanford, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 63 ’s science, tech and society degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford University is $1,233 for california science, tech & society students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Stanford Science, Technology & Society Report

2

University of California - Davis
Davis, California

#2 in overall quality

$10,006 Average Net Price

$46,065 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #2 spot on the list. University of California - Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 13 ’s science, tech and society degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Davis also took the #2 spot in our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Davis is $10,006 for California Science, Tech & Society students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% 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 Science, Technology & Society at University of California - Davis

3

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
Pomona, California

#3 in overall quality

$10,349 Average Net Price

$45,201 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a large school located in Pomona, California that handed out 5 ’s science, tech and society degrees in 2020-2021.

Cal Poly Pomona also took the #3 spot in our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly Pomona is $10,349 for California Science, Tech & Society students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Science, Technology & Society at Cal Poly Pomona

• Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society (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.