2023 Best Value Colleges for Physical Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in North Carolina
9
Ranked Colleges
1,594
Degrees Awarded
$10,400
Avg Net Price*
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 Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Physical Sciences is the 19th most popular major in the country with 50,306 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $39,880 and had an average of $22,620 in loans still to pay off.
Across North Carolina, there were 1,594 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $41,310 and $22,931 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in physical sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent physical sciences programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the physical sciences program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank 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 Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k” 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. 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 Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k
The colleges and universities below are the best for north carolina physical sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Physical Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in North Carolina
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, this large public school handed out 314 degrees to qualified ’s physical sciences students in 2020-2021.
UNC Chapel Hill also made our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $5,729 for north carolina physical sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad 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 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Physical Sciences Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Wake Forest University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k. Winston-Salem, North Carolina is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s physical sciences degrees to 49 students in 2020-2021.
Wake Forest University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina” list. The yearly cost to attend Wake Forest University is $5,612 for north carolina physical sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.
The undergrad 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 freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Physical Sciences at Wake Forest University
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, North Carolina State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, this large public school awarded 194 diplomas to qualified ’s physical sciences students in 2020-2021.
NC State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina” list. The yearly cost to attend NC State is $9,448 for North Carolina Physical Sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Physical Sciences at NC State
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Appalachian State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Boone, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s physical sciences degrees to 107 students in 2020-2021.
Appalachian State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina” list. It costs about $9,940 for North Carolina Physical Sciences students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Appalachian State.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad 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%.
Full Appalachian State Physical Sciences Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Carolina University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Greenville, North Carolina, and it awarded 131 ’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
ECU also made our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend East Carolina University is $13,029 for North Carolina Physical Sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.
Full East Carolina University Physical Sciences Report
Western Carolina University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #6. WCU is a fairly large school located in Cullowhee, North Carolina that handed out 70 ’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
WCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina” list. It costs about $11,625 for north carolina physical sciences students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Western Carolina University.
Full Western Carolina University Physical Sciences Report
University of North Carolina at Charlotte ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k list. UNC Charlotte is a large public school situated in Charlotte, North Carolina. It awarded 174 ’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
UNC Charlotte did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina” list. It costs about $13,226 for north carolina physical sciences students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Wilmington did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. Wilmington, North Carolina is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s physical sciences degrees to 129 students in 2020-2021.
UNCW did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina” list. It costs about $14,643 for north carolina physical sciences students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UNCW.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UNCW Physical Sciences Report
University of North Carolina at Asheville did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #9. Asheville, North Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s physical sciences degrees to 29 students in 2020-2021.
UNCA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Physical Sciences Schools in North Carolina” list. The estimated yearly cost for UNCA is $10,130 for north carolina physical sciences students whose families make $30-$48k.
Read more about Physical Sciences at University of North Carolina at Asheville
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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
- *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 NASA.
