2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Social Sciences (Income $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 Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
General Social Sciences is the 51st most popular major in the country with 19,742 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general social sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,665 and had an average of $22,423 in loans still to pay off.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 6,589 general social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 155 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general social sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general social 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 general social sciences program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Social Sciences (Income $0-$30k)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vanderbilt University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Vanderbilt University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 227 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, Vanderbilt has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $3,156 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Vanderbilt.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on General Social Sciences at Vanderbilt University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Harvard University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. Harvard is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 157 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Harvard also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Harvard is $2,973 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UPenn, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Pennsylvania is $3,181 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 95%.
Read more about General Social Sciences at University of Pennsylvania
Out of the 155 schools in the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
Northwestern also made our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $1,866 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
U-M also took the #7 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $3,166 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend U-M.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. UW Seattle is a large public school situated in Seattle, Washington. It awarded 72 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
UW Seattle did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $7,850 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UW Seattle.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Florida State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Florida State University is a large public school situated in Tallahassee, Florida. It awarded 292 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
Florida State also took the #13 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Florida State University is $5,360 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. 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%.
Read full report on General Social Sciences at Florida State University
With a ranking of #8, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. UT Rio Grande Valley is a large school located in Edinburg, Texas that handed out 12 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is $2,993 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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%.
University of South Florida - Main Campus ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. USF Tampa is a large school located in Tampa, Florida that handed out 153 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend University of South Florida - Main Campus is $3,950 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of South Florida - Main Campus General Social Sciences Report
Michigan State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #10. Located in East Lansing, Michigan, this large public school awarded 129 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social sciences students in 2019-2020.
Michigan State also made our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #16. It costs about $6,686 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Michigan State University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, 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%.
University of California - Irvine ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
UC Irvine also took the #24 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $9,558 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Irvine.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Irvine General Social Sciences Report
University of Minnesota - Morris did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. University of Minnesota - Morris is a small school located in Morris, Minnesota that handed out 7 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend UMN Morris is $4,230 for bachelor’s degree social sciences 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%.
Read full report on General Social Sciences at University of Minnesota - Morris
Colgate University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Colgate is located in Hamilton, New York and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.
Colgate not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Colgate is $9,752 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%.
Washington State University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Washington State University is a public institution located in Pullman, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 394 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Wazzu not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Wazzu is $9,334 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
The University of West Florida came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Pensacola, Florida is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 42 students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for The University of West Florida is $4,140 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
California State University - Stanislaus ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Turlock, California, and it awarded 63 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $3,410 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - Stanislaus.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.
Full California State University - Stanislaus General Social Sciences Report
University of Wisconsin - River Falls came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. River Falls, Wisconsin is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on this list, UW - River Falls is in the top on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for UW - River Falls is $8,366 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Social Sciences at UW - River Falls
University of Central Florida came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Orlando, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 33 students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for University of Central Florida is $6,211 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low student loan default rate of 4.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
University of Wyoming landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of Wyoming is a public institution located in Laramie, Wyoming. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for UW is $8,231 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
San Diego State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #20. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 55 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for San Diego State University is $8,870 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 General Social Sciences at San Diego State University
Towson University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #21. This large school is located in Towson, Maryland, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Towson is $9,206 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 3.8% 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 ranking of #22, University of North Texas did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Denton, Texas, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for University of North Texas is $8,521 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Full University of North Texas General Social Sciences Report
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $11,868 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UW - Whitewater.
University of Wisconsin - Platteville came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Platteville, Wisconsin, this medium-sized public school handed out 8 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social sciences students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend UW - Platteville is $12,117 for Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
Northern Kentucky University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #25. Northern Kentucky University is located in Highland Heights, Kentucky and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.
The estimated yearly cost for NKU is $4,156 for bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
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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 Manfred Werner (Tsui).
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