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2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k

5 Ranked Colleges
330 Degrees Awarded
$12,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2020-2021, 6,430 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 113th most popular in the United States. 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 Pennsylvania, there were 330 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,423 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 5 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 5 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in Pennsylvania

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 31 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

UPenn also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend University of Pennsylvania is $1,938 for pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Public Policy at UPenn

2
Carnegie Mellon crest
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Carnegie Mellon University landed the #2 spot on the list. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 75 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, Carnegie Mellon has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $13,608 for pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Carnegie Mellon University.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full Carnegie Mellon University Public Policy Report

3
Dickinson crest
Dickinson College
Carlisle, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dickinson College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 16 diplomas to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.

Dickinson also took the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $12,027 for pennsylvania public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Dickinson.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad 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 Dickinson College Public Policy Report

4
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Temple University landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 50 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

Temple not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $19,355 for Pennsylvania Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Temple University.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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 Temple

5

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is a public institution located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 33 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Pitt also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $17,691 for Pennsylvania Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Pitt.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

Notes and References

References

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