2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” 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 Plains States region, there were 44 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $27,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered 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.

More Ways to Rank Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, Minnesota

#1 in overall quality

$8,609 Average Net Price

$50,445 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this large public school handed out 23 diplomas to qualified ’s astronomy students in 2020-2021.

UMN Twin Cities also took the #1 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UMN Twin Cities is $8,609 for Plains States Region Astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full UMN Twin Cities Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

2

University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$15,508 Average Net Price

$50,430 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, this large public school handed out 10 diplomas to qualified ’s astronomy students in 2020-2021.

Iowa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $15,508 for Plains States Region Astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, 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 full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Iowa

3

University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

#3 in overall quality

$16,288 Average Net Price

$50,693 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Kansas. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Lawrence, Kansas, and it awarded 9 ’s astronomy degrees in 2020-2021.

KU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Kansas is $16,288 for Plains States Region Astronomy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Kansas

• Best Value 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.