2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in District of Columbia (With Aid)

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 Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 36,854 people earned their degree in design and applied arts, making the major the 34th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, design and applied arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,542 and had an average of $27,114 in loans still to pay off.

Across District of Columbia, there were 72 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $47,100 and $55,250 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 34 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $44,446 and $25,767 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in design and applied arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality design and applied arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the design and applied arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools

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

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 Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid.

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in District of Columbia (With Aid)

#1

American University

Washington, District of Columbia

#2 in overall quality

$43,451 Average Net Price

$42,682 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, American University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 11 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s design students in 2019-2020.

The American University also took the #2 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” ranking. It costs about $43,451 for district of columbia bachelor’s degree design students with aid per year to attend The American University.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Full The American University Design & Applied Arts Report

#2

George Washington University

Washington, District of Columbia

#1 in overall quality

$33,719 Average Net Price

$46,456 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, George Washington University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 23 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s design students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at GWU, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for GWU is $33,719 for district of columbia bachelor’s degree design students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at GWU

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in the Middle Atlantic Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (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.

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