2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k
647
Ranked Colleges
205,984
Degrees Awarded
$3,100
Avg Net Price*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 205,984 social sciences students received their degree, making the major the 5th most popular in the country. In 2019-2020, social sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $36,262 and had an average of $23,306 in loans still to pay off.
This year’s “Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 647 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in social sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great social sciences programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the social sciences program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. 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 Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 25 Best Value Colleges for Social Sciences (Income $0-$30k)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Durham, North Carolina, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 530 diplomas to qualified ’s social sciences students in 2020-2021.
Duke also took the #2 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Duke University is $371 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.3%, 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 undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Duke Social Sciences Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 357 diplomas to qualified ’s social sciences students in 2020-2021.
Stanford also made our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford is $1,233 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Stanford University Social Sciences Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brown University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Providence, Rhode Island, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 419 diplomas to qualified ’s social sciences students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, Brown has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Brown University is $1,468 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergraduate 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 undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
Read more about Social Sciences at Brown
Out of the 647 schools in the Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 663 degrees to qualified ’s social sciences students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, Northwestern has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. It costs about $245 for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northwestern University.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Northwestern Social Sciences Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Yale University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k. Yale is located in New Haven, Connecticut and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 528 ’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Yale, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Yale University is $961 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Social Sciences at Yale University
Johns Hopkins University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Johns Hopkins is a large school located in Baltimore, Maryland that handed out 1,364 ’s social sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Johns Hopkins did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. It costs about $2,084 for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Johns Hopkins University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 Social Sciences at Johns Hopkins University
University of Chicago ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social sciences degrees to 1,278 students in 2020-2021.
UChicago also made our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $2,500 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UChicago.
The undergraduate 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Sciences at University of Chicago
Vanderbilt University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 705 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Vanderbilt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Vanderbilt is $3,176 for 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 96%. The impressive undergraduate 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. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%.
Full Vanderbilt University Social Sciences Report
With a ranking of #9, Princeton University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Princeton University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Princeton, New Jersey. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 349 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Princeton, the school also landed the #17 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Princeton University is $2,958 for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 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 Social Sciences at Princeton University
University of Pennsylvania ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. UPenn is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 642 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, UPenn has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UPenn is $580 for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Pennsylvania
Harvard University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Cambridge, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social sciences degrees to 871 students in 2020-2021.
Harvard not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Harvard is $2,564 for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergraduate 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. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%.
Read full report on Social Sciences at Harvard
Williams College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Williamstown, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social sciences degrees to 156 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, Williams has also earned the #18 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Williams is $1,451 for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Social Sciences at Williams College
Rice University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Houston, Texas. It awarded 266 ’s social sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, Rice has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Rice University is $4,443 for 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 97%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full Rice Social Sciences Report
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. U-M is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,247 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
U-M excels when it comes to social sciences quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. It costs about $2,670 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend U-M.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Social Sciences at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Georgetown University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social sciences degrees to 1,193 students in 2020-2021.
Georgetown not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #19 on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Georgetown is $3,077 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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.
Full Georgetown University Social Sciences Report
Washington University in St Louis came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Saint Louis, Missouri is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social sciences degrees to 375 students in 2020-2021.
WUSTL did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Washington University in St Louis is $1,556 for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, 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 undergraduate students.
Read full report on Social Sciences at WUSTL
Washington and Lee University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #17. Washington and Lee is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lexington, Virginia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 138 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Washington and Lee also claimed a top spot on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The yearly cost to attend Washington and Lee University is $205 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.4% 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%.
Full Washington and Lee University Social Sciences Report
University of Florida landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Gainesville, Florida, this large public school handed out 1,318 degrees to qualified ’s social sciences students in 2020-2021.
On top of its placing in this ranking, UF also did well on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. It costs about $65 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Florida.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Florida
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,022 ’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.
UNC Chapel Hill also claimed a top spot on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The yearly cost to attend UNC Chapel Hill is $3,753 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, 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 95%.
Read full report on Social Sciences at UNC Chapel Hill
Tufts University landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Tufts is a fairly large school located in Medford, Massachusetts that handed out 877 ’s social sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Tufts also made our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list, coming in at #24. It costs about $8,122 for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Tufts.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Social Sciences at Tufts
University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UW - Madison is a large school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 1,846 ’s social sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Madison is also in the top of our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison is $3,981 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%.
Full UW - Madison Social Sciences Report
With a ranking of #22, Cornell University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Ithaca, New York, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 523 diplomas to qualified ’s social sciences students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, Cornell has also earned the #15 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. It costs about $5,244 for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cornell.
The undergraduate 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Cornell University Social Sciences Report
Boston College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social sciences degrees to 755 students in 2020-2021.
Boston College also claimed a top spot on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Boston College is $10,212 for 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 93%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%.
Full Boston College Social Sciences Report
With a ranking of #24, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 2,093 degrees to qualified ’s social sciences students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $8,450 for Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Social Sciences at UC Berkeley
Bowdoin College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Brunswick, Maine, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 212 diplomas to qualified ’s social sciences students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on this list, Bowdoin is in the top on our “Best Social Sciences Schools” list. It’s in the top [COLLEGE_QUALITY_PECTENTILE_ALL_LEVES]% of all schools in this category. The yearly cost to attend Bowdoin College is $5,626 for social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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 impressive undergraduate 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.
Full Bowdoin Social Sciences Report
