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2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid

8 Ranked Colleges
562 Degrees Awarded
$26,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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 Massachusetts, there were 562 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $54,833 and $39,641 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered 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.

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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid.

Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in Massachusetts (With Aid)

#1

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Harvard University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid. Harvard is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It awarded 252 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Harvard, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Harvard University is $15,386 for massachusetts public policy students with aid.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Harvard

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Massachusetts - Boston landed the #2 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 35 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMass Boston, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $18,340 for massachusetts public policy students with aid per year to attend University of Massachusetts - Boston.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Massachusetts - Boston

#3

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Massachusetts Amherst. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid. Amherst, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 34 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMass Amherst, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Massachusetts Amherst is $22,501 for Massachusetts Public Policy students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, 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 89%.

Full UMass Amherst Public Policy Report

#4

Simmons University

Boston, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Simmons University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid. Boston, Massachusetts is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

Simmons also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend Simmons University is $30,008 for Massachusetts Public Policy students with aid.

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 school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Simmons University

#5

Tufts University

Medford, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Tufts University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid. Tufts University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Medford, Massachusetts. It awarded 9 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Tufts also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $30,744 for Massachusetts Public Policy students with aid per year to attend Tufts.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Tufts Public Policy Report

#6

Suffolk University

Boston, Massachusetts

Suffolk University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 5 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Suffolk also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Suffolk University is $30,701 for massachusetts public policy students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Suffolk University Public Policy Report

#7

Northeastern University

Boston, Massachusetts

Northeastern University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our massachusetts public policy students with aid list, Northeastern has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northeastern University is $31,093 for massachusetts public policy students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Northeastern University

#8

Brandeis University

Waltham, Massachusetts

With a ranking of #8, Brandeis University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts For Those Getting Aid list. Brandeis University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Waltham, Massachusetts. It awarded 154 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Brandeis, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Brandeis is $31,165 for massachusetts public policy students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Public Policy at Brandeis University

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.

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