2023 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in California
8
Ranked Colleges
798
Degrees Awarded
$15,300
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.
Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,430 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $21,866 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 798 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $52,313 and $22,744 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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 Public Policy Schools in California 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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for california public policy students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. University of California - Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 114 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,450 for california public policy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UC Berkeley.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 96%.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Berkeley
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #2 spot on the list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 131 students in 2020-2021.
UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Los Angeles is $9,037 for california public policy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, 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.
Full UCLA Public Policy Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 199 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list. It costs about $17,287 for california public policy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend USC.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.
Full USC Public Policy Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 109 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCR, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCR is $6,810 for California Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.
Full University of California - Riverside Public Policy Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 14 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list. It costs about $6,540 for california public policy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UC Irvine.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad 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%.
Read more about Public Policy at UC Irvine
Mills College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Mills College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Oakland, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 31 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Mills also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Mills is $17,236 for california public policy students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Policy at Mills College
California Lutheran University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Thousand Oaks, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 30 diplomas to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
CLU also took the #9 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CLU is $20,774 for California Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Policy at California Lutheran University
With a ranking of #8, Pepperdine University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Pepperdine is located in Malibu, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 31 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Pepperdine also took the #10 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $36,264 for california public policy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Pepperdine.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Public Policy at Pepperdine
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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
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