2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2019-2020, 7,957 people earned their degree in music performance, making the major the 103rd most popular in the United States.
Across the Southwest region, there were 812 music performance graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 28 colleges that offer a degree in music performance. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great music performance 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 music performance 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.
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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college 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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 25 Best Value Colleges for Music Performance (Income $0-$30k) in the Southwest Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is a large school located in Edinburg, Texas that handed out 7 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
UT Rio Grande Valley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is $2,993 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Texas. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Denton, Texas, this large public school awarded 175 degrees to qualified ’s music performance students in 2019-2020.
UNT also took the #7 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $8,521 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of North Texas.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on Music Performance at University of North Texas
Out of the 28 schools in the Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Houston landed the #3 spot on the list. UH is a large public school situated in Houston, Texas. It awarded 27 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
UH not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Houston is $10,203 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at El Paso. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. The University of Texas at El Paso is a large school located in El Paso, Texas that handed out 6 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UTEP, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $7,092 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend The University of Texas at El Paso.
Read more about Music Performance at The University of Texas at El Paso
Out of the 28 schools in the Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Austin landed the #5 spot on the list. The University of Texas at Austin is a large school located in Austin, Texas that handed out 31 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Austin, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Texas at Austin is $12,203 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #6, Texas State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in San Marcos, Texas, this large public school awarded 17 diplomas to qualified ’s music performance students in 2019-2020.
Texas State also made our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Texas State is $11,125 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a ranking of #7, Texas A&M University - Commerce did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Commerce, Texas, this fairly large public school handed out 10 degrees to qualified ’s music performance students in 2019-2020.
Texas A&M Commerce also took the #9 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Texas A&M University - Commerce is $10,013 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
University of Arizona did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Tucson, Arizona, this large public school awarded 28 diplomas to qualified ’s music performance students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Arizona, the school also landed the #17 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $10,562 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Arizona.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This large school is located in Tempe, Arizona, and it awarded 100 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
ASU - Tempe also took the #21 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Arizona State University - Tempe is $7,044 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
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 full report on Music Performance at Arizona State University - Tempe
The University of Texas at Arlington landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Arlington, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.
UT Arlington also took the #10 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $11,811 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend The University of Texas at Arlington.
South Plains College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. South Plains College is a medium-sized public school situated in Levelland, Texas. It awarded 39 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend South Plains College is $6,211 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
New Mexico State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. Las Cruces, New Mexico is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.
NMSU Main Campus also took the #23 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend New Mexico State University - Main Campus is $6,896 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Music Performance at New Mexico State University - Main Campus
Northern Arizona University landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. NAU is a large school located in Flagstaff, Arizona that handed out 19 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
NAU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #22 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $9,251 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend NAU.
Read full report on Music Performance at Northern Arizona University
University of Central Oklahoma landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UCO is a fairly large school located in Edmond, Oklahoma that handed out 19 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
UCO not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #20 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UCO is $12,297 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Full University of Central Oklahoma Music Performance Report
Oklahoma City University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #15. Oklahoma City University is a small school located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that handed out 66 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
OCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #18 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for OCU is $17,214 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
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. The low student loan default rate of 3.8% 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%.
Tarleton State University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Tarleton State University is located in Stephenville, Texas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 ’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Tarleton, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Tarleton State University is $15,604 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Phoenix College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, this medium-sized public school handed out 1 degrees to qualified ’s music performance students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Phoenix College is $8,169 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Scottsdale Community College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #18. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, this medium-sized public school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified ’s music performance students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k list, Scottsdale Community College has also earned the #24 rank in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Scottsdale Community College is $8,963 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Oral Roberts University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #19. Tulsa, Oklahoma is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.
ORU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend ORU is $17,078 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Music Performance at Oral Roberts University
With a ranking of #20, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Norman, Oklahoma, this large public school handed out 15 degrees to qualified ’s music performance students in 2019-2020.
University of Oklahoma also took the #16 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Oklahoma is $16,675 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Music Performance Report
University of New Mexico - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #21. UNM is a large public school situated in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It awarded 50 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
UNM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #25 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus is $13,242 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
University of Tulsa landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of Tulsa is a small school located in Tulsa, Oklahoma that handed out 2 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
University of Tulsa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $14,391 for Southwest Region Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Tulsa.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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.
Read full report on Music Performance at University of Tulsa
Mesa Community College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Mesa, Arizona, and it awarded 1 ’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $8,791 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Mesa Community College.
Oklahoma Baptist University landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Shawnee, Oklahoma is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k list, OBU has also earned the #19 rank in our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Oklahoma Baptist University is $18,537 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Music Performance at Oklahoma Baptist University
Southwestern University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Southwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Georgetown, Texas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Southwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Southwestern is $20,296 for southwest region music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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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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