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2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

6 Ranked Colleges
344 Degrees Awarded
$6,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Astronomy & Astrophysics is the 219th most popular major in the country with 1,375 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, astronomy and astrophysics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,221 and had an average of $24,484 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 344 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $19,734 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 6 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in astronomy and astrophysics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great astronomy and astrophysics programs and cost less that 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 astronomy and astrophysics program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 6 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. University of California - Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 65 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Berkeley is $8,450 for far western us region astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Berkeley

2

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Pasadena, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 28 diplomas to qualified ’s astronomy students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our far western us region astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Caltech has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California Institute of Technology is $-539 for far western us region astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k. A negative average net price may seem strange, but it generally means that financial aid will more than cover the cost to attend the school.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full California Institute of Technology Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. UCLA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 43 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Los Angeles is $9,037 for Far Western US Region Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UCLA Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

4

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. UW Seattle is a public institution located in Seattle, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 51 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UW Seattle also took the #4 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $5,194 for far western us region astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UW Seattle.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full UW Seattle Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

5

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Cruz. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Santa Cruz, California, and it awarded 76 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Santa Cruz also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $11,038 for Far Western US Region Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Santa Cruz.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, 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 undergraduate students.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz

6
SDSU crest
San Diego State University
San Diego, California

San Diego State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 15 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

SDSU also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend San Diego State University is $7,169 for far western us region astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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%.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at San Diego State University

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