2021 Best Colleges for the Money (With No Aid) in Arkansas
When pursuing a degree in today's world, there are many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Arkansas Schools For The Money For Those With No Aid ranking.
Our analysis looked at 19 schools to determine which ones were the best for overall value for the money with no aid in Arkansas. Quality is an important component in this ranking, so it is not just naming the schools with the cheapest price tag. Instead, it is identifying those institutions that offer the most value when taking their educational quality into consideration. Thus, one college may rank better than another, but the second school could have a lower average cost.
Find out more about our ranking methodology.
Our average cost calculation adds up all expenses, such as tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses. So it is an approximation of how much you will have to pay out-of-pocket each year on average.
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Customizing Your List
Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location and field of study. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as overall quality or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
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!
Top Colleges for the Money (Without Aid) in Arkansas
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
University of Arkansas tops this year’s ranking as the best school for overall value for the money with no aid in Arkansas. Fayetteville, Arkansas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 5,181 students in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at UARK about 4.3 years to graduate, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $26,144. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from UARK is $112,942. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. UARK also made our Best Colleges in Arkansas list, coming in at #2.
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A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas list means Harding University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Harding University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Searcy, Arkansas that handed out 888 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.3 years for the average student at Harding to complete their degree, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $31,706 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Harding be around $137,921. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Harding also took the #3 spot in our Best Colleges in Arkansas rankings.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arkansas State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 in Arkansas on this year’s best value ranking. Located in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the fairly large public school handed out 1,850 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At Arkansas State University - Main Campus, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.4 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $24,388 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Arkansas State University - Main Campus be around $107,551. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
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A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas list means John Brown University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. John Brown University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Siloam Springs, Arkansas that handed out 443 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At JBU, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.2 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $40,774 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from JBU be around $169,212. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. JBU not only placed well in our value rankings, but it is also #4 on our Best Colleges in Arkansas list.
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A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas list means University of Central Arkansas is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. University of Central Arkansas is a public institution located in Conway, Arkansas. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,747 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at University of Central Arkansas graduates in less than 4.6 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $23,903 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from University of Central Arkansas is $108,998. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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Ouachita Baptist University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas ranking. Ouachita Baptist is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. It awarded 399 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Ouachita Baptist graduates in less than 4.1 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $40,200 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Ouachita Baptist is $164,016. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
Ouachita Baptist also made our Best Colleges in Arkansas list, coming in at #5.
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Arkansas Tech University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas list. This fairly large public school is located in Russellville, Arkansas, and it awarded 1,360 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at ATU is 4.5 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $19,606 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from ATU is $87,639. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
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With a ranking of #8, University of Arkansas at Little Rock did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas list. Located in Little Rock, Arkansas, the medium-sized public school handed out 1,316 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.6 years for the average student at UA Little Rock to complete their degree, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $24,198. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from UA Little Rock is $110,343. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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University of Arkansas - Fort Smith came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas ranking. Located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the medium-sized public school handed out 826 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.5 years for the average student at University of Arkansas - Fort Smith to complete their degree, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $20,879 for students who receive no aid. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from University of Arkansas - Fort Smith is about $94,999. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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Southern Arkansas University Main Campus came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas ranking. Magnolia, Arkansas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 495 students in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at Southern Arkansas University Main Campus about 4.4 years to graduate, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $23,650 for students who receive no aid. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the Southern Arkansas University Main Campus is $103,587. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
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University of Arkansas at Monticello came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas ranking. University of Arkansas at Monticello is a small public school located in Monticello, Arkansas that handed out 444 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At UAM, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.4 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $19,993 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from UAM is $88,169. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
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Henderson State University landed the #12 spot on the 2021 Best Value Colleges in Arkansas ranking. Henderson State University is a public institution located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 534 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.5 years for the average student at Henderson State University to complete their degree, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $25,009 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Henderson State University be around $111,790. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
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University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas list. Pine Bluff, Arkansas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 433 students in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at UAPB is 4.8 years, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $21,080. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from UAPB is $100,762. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
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With a ranking of #14, Lyon College did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas list. Batesville, Arkansas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 155 students in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Lyon is 4.1 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $42,450 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Lyon is $173,196. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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With a ranking of #14, Hendrix College did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Conway, Arkansas, and it awarded 338 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Hendrix graduates in less than 4.1 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $64,060 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from Hendrix is $260,724. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
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%. Hendrix not only placed well in our value rankings, but it is also #1 on our Best Colleges in Arkansas list.
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Philander Smith College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas ranking. Philander Smith is a private not-for-profit institution located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 81 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Philander Smith graduates in less than 4.1 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $26,105 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Philander Smith is $107,814. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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Arkansas Baptist College did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in Arkansas ranking, coming in at #17. Located in Little Rock, Arkansas, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 22 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.5 years for the average student at Arkansas Baptist College to complete their degree, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $23,060 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from Arkansas Baptist College is $103,770. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
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With a ranking of #18, Williams Baptist College did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in Arkansas list. Williams Baptist College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. It awarded 71 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at Williams Baptist College about 4.1 years to graduate, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $30,714. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Williams Baptist College be around $127,156. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
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Central Baptist College did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in Arkansas ranking, coming in at #19. Located in Conway, Arkansas, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 124 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
It takes about 5.3 years for the average student at CBC to complete their degree, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $27,754. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from CBC be around $146,819. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 19 schools only.
- For our state-specific rankings, we use in-state tuition to calculate average cost. For our national and regional rankings, we use a weighted average of in-state and non-resident tuition.
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%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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