2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in District of Columbia
When it comes to choosing a college, veterans have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Veterans in District of Columbia ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 10 colleges and universities across District of Columbia to determine which were the best for veterans and active service members. Our ranking methodology focuses on over 20 different objective factors - such as percentage of costs covered by the GI Bill®, number of GI Bill® recipients at the school, and overall quality - to make this determination.
Get more details on our ranking methodology.
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Top Colleges for Veterans in District of Columbia
See which schools came out on top of our ranking:
Our analysis found George Washington University to be the best school for veterans in District of Columbia in this year’s ranking. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 9,358 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 27,017 students enrolled at GWU, 1,274 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1,076 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $16,151. During this same period, 349 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. GWU also took the #2 spot in our Best Schools in District of Columbia rankings.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges for Veterans in District of Columbia list means Georgetown University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 7,451 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Of the 19,371 students enrolled at Georgetown, 870 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 809 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $16,728. During this same period, 254 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Georgetown also made our Best Schools in District of Columbia list, coming in at #1.
Out of the 10 schools in District of Columbia that were part of this year’s ranking, American University landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 4,362 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 14,001 students enrolled at The American University, 614 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 522 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $22,029. On top of their other funding sources, 245 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
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%. The American University also took the #3 spot in our Best Schools in District of Columbia rankings.
Out of the 10 schools in District of Columbia that were part of this year’s ranking, Catholic University of America landed the #4 spot on the list. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 1,546 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 5,366 students enrolled at CUA, 206 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 162 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $21,176. During this same period, 66 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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%. CUA also made our Best Schools in District of Columbia list, coming in at #4.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of the District of Columbia. It ranked #5 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in District of Columbia list. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the small public school handed out 761 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 3,725 students enrolled at University of the District of Columbia, 123 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 94 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $5,230. To help with additional expenses, 50 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of the District of Columbia does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
With a ranking of #6, Strayer University - District of Columbia did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in District of Columbia list. Strayer University - District of Columbia is a small private for-profit school situated in Washington, District of Columbia. It awarded 204 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
According to our most recent data, Strayer University - District of Columbia supports 745 students, and 126 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 110 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,498. Strayer University - District of Columbia does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
Read full report on Strayer University - District of Columbia
Howard University landed the #7 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in District of Columbia ranking. Howard is a private not-for-profit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,667 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 10,859 students enrolled at Howard, 285 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $12,681.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Howard also made our Best Schools in District of Columbia list, coming in at #5.
Gallaudet University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for Veterans in District of Columbia list. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 400 students in 2019-2020.
Among the 1,451 students enrolled at Gallaudet, 22 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 9 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $13,688.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Strayer University - Global Region did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in District of Columbia ranking, coming in at #9. This fairly large private for-profit school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 1,950 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #10, Trinity Washington University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in District of Columbia list. Trinity College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 331 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
According to our most recent data, Trinity College supports 1,846 students, and 21 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 18 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,475.
Best Colleges for Veterans in the Middle Atlantic Region
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Best Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 10 schools only.
**GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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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