2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in Virginia

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Public Policy is the 116th most popular major in the country with 6,199 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Virginia, there were 477 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,725 and $29,647 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 190 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 4 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.

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.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

The public policy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in Virginia

#1

William & Mary

Williamsburg, Virginia

#2 in overall quality

$11,721 Average Net Price

$39,369 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend William & Mary. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, this medium-sized public school awarded 54 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

William & Mary also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $11,721 for virginia bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend William & Mary.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full William & Mary Public Policy Report

#2

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$14,671 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k list. Charlottesville, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 82 students in 2019-2020.

University of Virginia did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $14,671 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Virginia.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, 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 97%.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Virginia

#3

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

#3 in overall quality

$19,067 Average Net Price

$43,798 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Tech. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k. This large school is located in Blacksburg, Virginia, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Virginia Tech also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $19,067 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Virginia Tech.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at Virginia Tech

#4

Regent University

Virginia Beach, Virginia

#4 in overall quality

$15,865 Average Net Price

$33,281 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Regent University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k list. This fairly large school is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Regent, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $15,865 for virginia bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Regent.

Full Regent Public Policy Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k)

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.

Featured Public Administration Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >