2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $30-$48k) in Pennsylvania

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Astronomy & Astrophysics is the 222nd most popular major in the country with 1,268 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, astronomy and astrophysics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $27,700 and had an average of $21,346 in loans still to pay off.

Across Pennsylvania, there were 26 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 26 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree 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.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the astronomy and astrophysics 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 Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $30-$48k) in Pennsylvania

#1

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

#1 in overall quality

$13,782 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Carnegie Mellon University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k list. Carnegie Mellon University is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

Carnegie Mellon also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Carnegie Mellon is $13,782 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at Carnegie Mellon University

#2

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

#2 in overall quality

$21,011 Average Net Price

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #2 spot on the list. Pitt is a large public school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 1 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Pitt, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is $21,011 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 3.5% 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 more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at Pitt

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $30-$48k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $30-$48k)

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.

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