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2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

94 Ranked Colleges
33,876 Degrees Awarded
$6,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

With 205,726 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, social sciences is the 5th most popular major in the United States. In 2017-2018, social sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $34,801 and had an average of $23,466 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 58,601 social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,087 and $19,838 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 33,876 social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 94 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the social sciences program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Stanford is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 236 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $-1,387 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Stanford University. When an average net price is negative, it usually means that the student will receive more financial aid than it costs to attend the school.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Stanford University Social Sciences Report

#2

Claremont McKenna College

Claremont, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Claremont McKenna College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This small school is located in Claremont, California, and it awarded 177 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Claremont McKenna also made our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Claremont McKenna is $8,566 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The 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.

Read more about Social Sciences at Claremont McKenna College

#3

Pomona College

Claremont, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pomona College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Pomona is a small school located in Claremont, California that handed out 107 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Pomona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $6,945 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Pomona.

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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Pomona College Social Sciences Report

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 1,906 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Berkeley has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Berkeley is $8,392 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Berkeley

#10 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a large public school situated in Seattle, Washington. It awarded 1,092 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UW Seattle also took the #10 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $7,850 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Full UW Seattle Social Sciences Report

With a ranking of #6, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 628 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $1,379 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cal State LA.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at California State University - Los Angeles

#7

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#5 in overall quality

University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school awarded 2,699 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s social sciences students in 2019-2020.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Los Angeles is $8,553 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Social Sciences Report

#14 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,578 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also took the #14 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Irvine is $9,558 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, 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 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at UC Irvine

California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. CSUDH is a fairly large school located in Carson, California that handed out 296 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend CSUDH is $2,455 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at CSUDH

California State University - Fresno ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. California State University - Fresno is a large public school situated in Fresno, California. It awarded 700 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $3,264 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read more about Social Sciences at California State University - Fresno

With a ranking of #11, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Fullerton, California, and it awarded 633 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $4,291 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - Fullerton.

The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Social Sciences at California State University - Fullerton

#12

Pitzer College

Claremont, California
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #12, Pitzer College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Pitzer College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 71 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Pitzer, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $15,922 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Pitzer College.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at Pitzer

#13

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#8 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UCSB is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1,984 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.

UCSB also made our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for UCSB is $10,316 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara

California State University - Stanislaus came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California State University - Stanislaus is a public institution located in Turlock, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 296 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Stan State is $3,410 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at California State University - Stanislaus

#15

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California

University of California - Riverside landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 1,064 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for UCR is $8,366 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.1% 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 UCR Social Sciences Report

California State University - Long Beach ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. CSULB is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 697 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for CSULB is $6,364 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full California State University - Long Beach Social Sciences Report

#11 in overall quality

University of California - Davis came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 1,387 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Davis has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Davis is $9,842 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UC Davis Social Sciences Report

#12 in overall quality

With a ranking of #18, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 1,086 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD also took the #12 spot in our “Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - San Diego is $9,280 for far western us region 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 94%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Sciences at University of California - San Diego

With a ranking of #19, California State University - Northridge did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. California State University - Northridge is a large school located in Northridge, California that handed out 953 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend CSUN is $5,945 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Northridge Social Sciences Report

#20

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington

Washington State University landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Washington State University is located in Pullman, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 612 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.

It costs about $9,334 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Wazzu.

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%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Washington State University

#21

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. SDSU is a large school located in San Diego, California that handed out 697 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for SDSU is $8,870 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at San Diego State University

#22

California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino, California

California State University - San Bernardino did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #22. This fairly large school is located in San Bernardino, California, and it awarded 450 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $5,077 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - San Bernardino.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at CSUSB

California State University - Bakersfield came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California State University - Bakersfield is a fairly large school located in Bakersfield, California that handed out 168 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Bakersfield is $3,423 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full California State University - Bakersfield Social Sciences Report

California State University - Sacramento did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #24. This large school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 730 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Sacramento is $6,819 for far western us region bachelor’s degree social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Sciences at California State University - Sacramento

#25

Eastern Washington University

Cheney, Washington

Eastern Washington University landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. EWU is a fairly large public school situated in Cheney, Washington. It awarded 194 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for EWU is $8,473 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Eastern Washington University Social Sciences Report

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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.

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