2022 Best Value Religious Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Religious Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 1,336 people earned their degree in religious education, making the major the 215th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, religious education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $28,663 and had an average of $31,603 in loans still to pay off.

Across Pennsylvania, there were 13 religious education graduates with average earnings and debt of $23,600 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 13 religious education graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Religious Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in religious education. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent religious education programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the religious education program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The religious ed 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 Religious Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Religious Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Religious Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Religious Education (Income $0-$30k) in Pennsylvania

#1

Messiah University

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

#1 in overall quality

$20,824 Average Net Price

$24,730 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Religious Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Messiah University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 12 degrees to qualified bachelors’s religious ed students in 2019-2020.

Messiah also took the #1 spot in our “Best Religious Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $20,824 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Religious Ed students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Messiah University.

The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Religious Education at Messiah University

#2

University of Valley Forge

Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

#2 in overall quality

$19,085 Average Net Price

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Religious Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Valley Forge landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Valley Forge is a private not-for-profit institution located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UVF not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Religious Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $19,085 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Religious Ed students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Valley Forge.

Full UVF Religious Education Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Religious Education (Income $0-$30k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Religious Education (Income $0-$30k)

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 RichardF.

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