2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in North Carolina

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

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 North Carolina, there were 481 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $54,533 and $30,428 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 401 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,192 and $24,368 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy 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 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

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 for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k” 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 Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for north carolina bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in North Carolina

#1

Duke University

Durham, North Carolina

#1 in overall quality

$-1,314 Average Net Price

$53,358 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k. Duke University is a fairly large school located in Durham, North Carolina that handed out 233 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Duke, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Duke University is $-1,314 for north carolina bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k. A negative average net price may seem strange, but it generally means that financial aid will more than cover the cost to attend the school.

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 student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Full Duke University Public Policy Report

#2

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

#2 in overall quality

$6,063 Average Net Price

$37,980 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k list. UNC Chapel Hill is a large school located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that handed out 168 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UNC Chapel Hill not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list. It costs about $6,063 for north carolina bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UNC Chapel Hill.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The low student loan default rate of 1.9% 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 UNC Chapel Hill Public Policy Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k)

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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