2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration (Income $0-$30k) in Virginia

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 17,269 people earned their degree in public administration, making the major the 58th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, public administration graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $48,859 and had an average of $42,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 515 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $49,860 and $39,579 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 96 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public administration. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public administration programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public administration 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 Public Administration Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration (Income $0-$30k) in Virginia

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$14,196 Average Net Price

$41,406 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend James Madison University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k. JMU is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 59 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, JMU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend JMU is $14,196 for virginia bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default 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.

Read full report on Public Administration at James Madison University

#2

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia

#2 in overall quality

$16,204 Average Net Price

$43,798 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k list. George Mason University is a large school located in Fairfax, Virginia that handed out 23 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

GMU also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for GMU is $16,204 for virginia bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, 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 86%.

Read full report on Public Administration at George Mason University

#3

Liberty University

Lynchburg, Virginia

#3 in overall quality

$27,896 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Liberty University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Lynchburg, Virginia. It awarded 7 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

Liberty University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $27,896 for virginia bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Liberty University.

Read full report on Public Administration at Liberty University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration (Income $0-$30k)

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 The Official CTBTO Photostream.

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