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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Physical Sciences (Income $0-$30k)

12 Ranked Colleges
261 Degrees Awarded
$12,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor's 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. 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 Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 4,159 people earned their degree in general physical sciences, making the major the 135th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, general physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $25,050 and had an average of $13,137 in loans still to pay off.

At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 261 general physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer a degree in general physical sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general physical sciences programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general physical sciences 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 General Physical Sciences Schools

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 Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Physical Sciences (Income $0-$30k)

#1

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in East Lansing, Michigan, this large public school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s physical science students in 2019-2020.

Michigan State also took the #5 spot in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $6,686 for bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Michigan State.

The low student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read more about General Physical Sciences at Michigan State University

#2

Emory University

Atlanta, Georgia
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Emory University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Emory University is located in Atlanta, Georgia and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 bachelors’s physical science degrees to qualified students.

Emory also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $11,468 for Bachelor’s Degree Physical Science students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Emory.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Emory University General Physical Sciences Report

#11 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. California State University - Fresno is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 16 bachelors’s physical science degrees in 2019-2020.

Fresno State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $3,264 for bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, 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 students.

Read full report on General Physical Sciences at Fresno State

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Tempe, Arizona, this large public school awarded 49 degrees to qualified bachelors’s physical science students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k list, ASU - Tempe has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Arizona State University - Tempe is $7,044 for bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about General Physical Sciences at Arizona State University - Tempe

#5

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington
#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Washington State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Washington State University is a large school located in Pullman, Washington that handed out 5 bachelors’s physical science degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k list, Wazzu has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Wazzu is $9,334 for bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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 General Physical Sciences at Washington State University

#6

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. UC Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s physical science degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Santa Cruz is $10,872 for bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full UC Santa Cruz General Physical Sciences Report

#12 in overall quality

California State University - Stanislaus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Turlock, California, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s physical science degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k list, Stan State has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Stanislaus is $3,410 for Bachelor’s Degree Physical Science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about General Physical Sciences at Stan State

#8

Kansas State University

Manhattan, Kansas
#2 in overall quality

Kansas State University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Kansas State University is located in Manhattan, Kansas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s physical science degrees to qualified students.

K -State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Kansas State University is $14,232 for Bachelor’s Degree Physical Science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Kansas State University General Physical Sciences Report

#4 in overall quality

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s physical science degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

Pitt also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is $20,075 for Bachelor’s Degree Physical Science students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read full report on General Physical Sciences at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

#10

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, Kentucky
#10 in overall quality

Western Kentucky University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, this fairly large public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified bachelors’s physical science students in 2019-2020.

WKU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for WKU is $11,714 for Bachelor’s Degree Physical Science students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Physical Sciences at WKU

#11

Rowan University

Glassboro, New Jersey
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, Rowan University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Glassboro, New Jersey, this fairly large public school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s physical science students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k list, Rowan has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Rowan is $18,401 for bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Rowan General Physical Sciences Report

#12

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, New York

Rochester Institute of Technology landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physical Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Rochester, New York, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s physical science degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k list, RIT has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $27,095 for bachelor’s degree physical science students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend RIT.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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%.

Read more about General Physical Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology

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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