2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in New York (With Aid)

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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 New York, there were 355 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $54,050 and $31,052 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 236 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,973 and $22,589 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

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 New York For Those Getting Aid” 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. 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 for a Bachelor’s in New York For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in New York (With Aid)

#1

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York

#1 in overall quality

$40,126 Average Net Price

$69,897 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Cornell University landed the #1 spot on the list. Cornell is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Ithaca, New York. It awarded 58 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Cornell also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Cornell University is $40,126 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 full report on Public Policy at Cornell

#2

SUNY Empire State College

Saratoga Springs, New York

#4 in overall quality

$12,142 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend SUNY Empire State College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York For Those Getting Aid. This fairly large school is located in Saratoga Springs, New York, and it awarded 51 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

SUNY Empire also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for SUNY Empire is $12,142 for new york bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid.

Read more about Public Policy at SUNY Empire

#3

University at Albany

Albany, New York

#3 in overall quality

$18,577 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University at Albany landed the #3 spot on the list. Albany, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 54 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UAlbany, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $18,577 for new york bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid per year to attend University at Albany.

Full University at Albany Public Policy Report

#4

Siena College

Loudonville, New York

#2 in overall quality

$27,479 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Siena College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in New York For Those Getting Aid list. Siena is located in Loudonville, New York and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 18 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our new york bachelor’s degree public policy students with aid list, Siena has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $27,479 for New York Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students with aid per year to attend Siena College.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 Siena College

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Middle Atlantic Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (With Aid)

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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