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2022 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Maryland

4 Ranked Colleges
223 Degrees Awarded
$8,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools in Maryland For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Public Policy Schools in Maryland For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 6,199 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 116th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.

Across Maryland, there were 223 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $49,250 and $28,785 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Maryland For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Public Policy Schools in Maryland For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in Maryland For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in Maryland For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Maryland

#1

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Johns Hopkins University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Maryland For Those Making $0-$30k list. Baltimore, Maryland is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 27 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our maryland public policy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Johns Hopkins has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Maryland” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Johns Hopkins is $3,526 for maryland 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 97%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The 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 Johns Hopkins Public Policy Report

#2

University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, Maryland

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Maryland For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Maryland - College Park landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Maryland - College Park is a large public school situated in College Park, Maryland. It awarded 164 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UMCP not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Maryland” list. The yearly cost to attend UMCP is $8,054 for maryland public policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of Maryland - College Park Public Policy Report

#3

St Mary's College of Maryland

St. Mary's City, Maryland

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Maryland For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, St Mary’s College of Maryland landed the #3 spot on the list. St Mary’s College of Maryland is a small public school situated in St. Mary’s City, Maryland. It awarded 10 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

SMCM not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Maryland” list. It costs about $9,445 for maryland public policy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend SMCM.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%. 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.

Read more about Public Policy at St Mary’s College of Maryland

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Maryland For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Maryland - Baltimore County landed the #4 spot on the list. UMBC is located in Baltimore, Maryland and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UMBC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Maryland” list. The estimated yearly cost for UMBC is $10,820 for Maryland 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 87%. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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 Maryland - Baltimore County Public Policy Report

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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