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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in North Carolina

8 Ranked Colleges
206 Degrees Awarded
$10,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor's in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 8,918 people earned their degree in geological and earth sciences, making the major the 84th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, geological and earth sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $35,533 and had an average of $23,531 in loans still to pay off.

Across North Carolina, there were 280 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,600 and $23,212 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 206 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,192 and $24,368 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in geological and earth sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great geological and earth sciences 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 geological and earth sciences program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. 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 Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in North Carolina

#1

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k list. UNC Chapel Hill is a large school located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that handed out 23 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UNC Chapel Hill also took the #1 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $4,026 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

#2

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, North Carolina

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend North Carolina State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Raleigh, North Carolina, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

NC State also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend North Carolina State University is $7,285 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at North Carolina State University

#3

Appalachian State University

Boone, North Carolina

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Appalachian State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Boone, North Carolina, and it awarded 33 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

Appalachian State also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $7,169 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Appalachian State.

The low student loan default rate of 3.9% 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 students.

Full Appalachian State Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#4

East Carolina University

Greenville, North Carolina

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Carolina University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k list. East Carolina University is located in Greenville, North Carolina and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 16 bachelors’s geology degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our north carolina bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k list, ECU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” ranking. It costs about $11,026 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend East Carolina University.

Full ECU Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#5

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Wilmington, North Carolina

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Wilmington landed the #5 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Wilmington, North Carolina, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UNCW also took the #6 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of North Carolina at Wilmington is $12,229 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at UNCW

#6

Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, North Carolina
#7 in overall quality

Western Carolina University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. WCU is located in Cullowhee, North Carolina and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 12 bachelors’s geology degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WCU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Western Carolina University is $9,188 for north carolina bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Western Carolina University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#7

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Charlotte, North Carolina

University of North Carolina at Charlotte landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, this large public school handed out 57 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s geology students in 2019-2020.

UNC Charlotte not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list. It costs about $11,991 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UNC Charlotte.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of North Carolina at Charlotte

#8

Guilford College

Greensboro, North Carolina

Guilford College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This small school is located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

Guilford also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $19,885 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Guilford.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Guilford

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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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Kelvinsong.

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