2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k” 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 the Southwest region, there were 536 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,050 and $23,421 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 285 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,896 and $23,899 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 2 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.

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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region

#1

The University of Texas at Dallas

Richardson, Texas

#2 in overall quality

$13,797 Average Net Price

$35,060 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Dallas. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k. Located in Richardson, Texas, this large public school handed out 25 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

UT Dallas did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UT Dallas is $13,797 for southwest region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at The University of Texas at Dallas

#2

Arizona State University - Skysong

Scottsdale, Arizona

#3 in overall quality

$15,891 Average Net Price

$37,110 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Skysong. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, this large public school awarded 84 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ASU - Skysong, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Arizona State University - Skysong is $15,891 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Public Policy at Arizona State University - Skysong

#2

Southern Methodist University

Dallas, Texas

#1 in overall quality

$31,813 Average Net Price

$38,289 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Methodist University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. SMU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Dallas, Texas. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend SMU is $31,813 for southwest region bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full SMU Public Policy Report

• 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.

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