2022 Best Value Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $48-$75k) in Iowa

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 Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Geological & Earth Sciences is the 84th most popular major in the country with 8,918 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Iowa, there were 70 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in geological and earth sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geological and earth sciences programs, but they also 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

The geology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k”.

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. 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 Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $48-$75k) in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$15,729 Average Net Price

$39,900 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #1 spot on the list. UNI is a medium-sized school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa that handed out 10 ’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI also took the #1 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Northern Iowa is $15,729 for iowa geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UNI Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#2

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$14,161 Average Net Price

$46,410 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k list. Iowa State is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 22 ’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $14,161 for Iowa Geology students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Iowa State.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Iowa State University

• Best Value Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $48-$75k)

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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