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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in Iowa (With Aid)

10 Ranked Colleges
271 Degrees Awarded
$20,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor's in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 57,618 people earned their degree in social work, making the major the 12th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, social work graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,459 and had an average of $30,084 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 465 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,950 and $28,476 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 271 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in social work. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great social work programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the social work 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 Social Work Schools

The social work 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 Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students with aid.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work in Iowa (With Aid)

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #1 spot on the list. UNI is a medium-sized public school situated in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It awarded 72 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI also made our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $15,620 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students with aid per year to attend UNI.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UNI Social Work Report

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 54 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also took the #2 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $19,145 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of Iowa Social Work Report

#3

Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Loras College landed the #3 spot on the list. Dubuque, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 19 students in 2019-2020.

Loras not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $20,676 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students with aid per year to attend Loras.

The low student loan default rate of 3.2% 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 Loras College Social Work Report

#4

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Briar Cliff University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid. Sioux City, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 42 students in 2019-2020.

Briar Cliff did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Briar Cliff is $20,604 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students with aid.

Full Briar Cliff University Social Work Report

#5

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Buena Vista University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid. Storm Lake, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree social work students with aid list, BVU has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $17,544 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students with aid per year to attend BVU.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Social Work at BVU

#6

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa
#10 in overall quality

Grand View University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Des Moines, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 15 students in 2019-2020.

Grand View University also took the #10 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Grand View University is $19,826 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students with aid.

Read more about Social Work at Grand View University

#7

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

Luther College landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Decorah, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 12 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.

Luther also took the #4 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Luther College is $23,620 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 Luther Social Work Report

#8

Wartburg College

Waverly, Iowa

Wartburg College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid list. Wartburg is a small school located in Waverly, Iowa that handed out 9 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Wartburg not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $21,787 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students with aid per year to attend Wartburg.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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 Social Work at Wartburg College

#9

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Mount Mercy University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Mount Mercy is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It awarded 11 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Mount Mercy not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Mount Mercy is $20,857 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at Mount Mercy

#10

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa

Dordt University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Getting Aid ranking. Dordt is a small school located in Sioux Center, Iowa that handed out 14 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree social work students with aid list, Dordt has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Dordt is $25,102 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at Dordt

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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