2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking.
Music is the 40th most popular major in the country with 27,047 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, music graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $25,639 and had an average of $28,653 in loans still to pay off.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 15,839 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 643 colleges that offered a degree in music. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great music 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 program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
The music 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 Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree music students with aid.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music (With Aid)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. Located in Edinburg, Texas, this large public school handed out 39 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.
UT Rio Grande Valley excels when it comes to music quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for UT Rio Grande Valley is $4,514 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid.
The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a large school located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that handed out 47 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
UNC Chapel Hill also took the #16 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $12,352 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid per year to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 643 schools in the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas A&M International University landed the #3 spot on the list. Texas A&M International University is a medium-sized school located in Laredo, Texas that handed out 9 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Texas A&M International University is $3,074 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid.
Read full report on Music at Texas A&M International University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Hunter College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 32 students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $2,490 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid per year to attend Hunter College.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, 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 Baruch College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. New York, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $3,562 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid per year to attend Baruch.
The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
California State University - Los Angeles ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $2,768 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid per year to attend California State University - Los Angeles.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Berea College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Berea College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Berea, Kentucky. It awarded 7 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Berea is $5,184 for bachelor’s degree music 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
With a ranking of #8, University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is located in Seattle, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 26 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on this list, UW Seattle is in the top on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for UW Seattle is $13,297 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. 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%.
Read full report on Music at University of Washington - Seattle Campus
University of Florida did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. University of Florida is a public institution located in Gainesville, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 44 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UF also claimed a top spot on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend UF is $6,302 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.
Stanford University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
Stanford also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $11,496 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid per year to attend Stanford University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Lehman College landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Lehman is a fairly large public school situated in Bronx, New York. It awarded 8 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Lehman is $1,814 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid.
The University of Texas at El Paso came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. UTEP is a public institution located in El Paso, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for The University of Texas at El Paso is $8,920 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid.
The City College of New York ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. This fairly large school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 47 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for The City College of New York is $2,385 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid.
Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. San Juan, is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 35 students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music is $5,733 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
The University of Texas at Austin ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. UT Austin is a large school located in Austin, Texas that handed out 59 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
UT Austin did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $18,023 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid per year to attend UT Austin.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
The University of Texas at San Antonio did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #16. The University of Texas at San Antonio is located in San Antonio, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 42 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
UTSA excels when it comes to music quality. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for UTSA is $13,853 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid.
Read full report on Music at The University of Texas at San Antonio
Elizabeth City State University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. This small school is located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Elizabeth City State University is $2,350 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid.
Truman State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #18. Truman State University is located in Kirksville, Missouri and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 23 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Truman State is also in the top of our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. It costs about $12,462 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid per year to attend Truman State.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%.
California State University - Northridge came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Northridge, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 125 students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend California State University - Northridge is $8,414 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music at California State University - Northridge
Florida State University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Florida State is a public institution located in Tallahassee, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 87 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on this list, Florida State is in the top on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $9,789 for bachelor’s degree music students with aid per year to attend Florida State.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. 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%.
Brigham Young University - Idaho came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. BYU - I is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Rexburg, Idaho. It awarded 37 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Brigham Young University - Idaho is $7,167 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Whitewater, Wisconsin is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.
On top of its placing in this ranking, UW - Whitewater also did well on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Whitewater is $15,249 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid.
California State University - Fullerton ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Cal State Fullerton is a large school located in Fullerton, California that handed out 67 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $7,991 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid per year to attend California State University - Fullerton.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.
California State University - Fresno came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Fresno, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 28 students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $5,464 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid.
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%.
Read more about Music at California State University - Fresno
Brooklyn College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Brooklyn, New York, this fairly large public school handed out 13 degrees to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Brooklyn College is $2,683 for Bachelor’s Degree Music students with aid.
The low student loan default rate of 5.0% 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%.
Rest of the Best 50 in Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Rest of the Top 15% Colleges in Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
While not in the ‘top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire | Eau Claire, WI |
| 52 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 53 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA |
| 54 | Yale University | New Haven, CT |
| 55 | Florida International University | Miami, FL |
| 56 | McNeese State University | Lake Charles, LA |
| 57 | The University of West Florida | Pensacola, FL |
| 58 | Middle Tennessee State University | Murfreesboro, TN |
| 59 | Appalachian State University | Boone, NC |
| 60 | Florida Gulf Coast University | Fort Myers, FL |
| 61 | Texas A&M University - Kingsville | Kingsville, TX |
| 62 | University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh | Oshkosh, WI |
| 63 | University of Wisconsin - Platteville | Platteville, WI |
| 64 | Southeastern Louisiana University | Hammond, LA |
| 65 | Texas A&M University - Commerce | Commerce, TX |
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 91 | Ball State University | Muncie, IN |
| 92 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona | Pomona, CA |
| 93 | San Jose State University | San Jose, CA |
| 94 | University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA |
| 95 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE |
| 96 | Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis | Indianapolis, IN |
| 97 | California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento, CA |
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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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