2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island
With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island ranking is part of that endeavor.
After analyzing 11 schools in Rhode Island, we came up with our list of those that offered the best educational experiences for veterans. Our ranking is based on over 20 objective factors, including the school's overall quality, the number of GI Bill® recipients at the school, and the percentage of costs covered by the GI Bill®. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another.
Learn more about our ranking methodology.
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Top Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island
See which schools came out on top of our ranking:
Our analysis found University of Rhode Island to be the best school for veterans in Rhode Island in this year’s ranking. URI is a public institution located in Kingston, Rhode Island. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4,654 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Of the 17,649 students enrolled at URI, 385 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 192 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $9,395. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The low student loan default rate of 4.2% 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%.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island list means Roger Williams University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Bristol, Rhode Island, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 1,187 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 4,702 students enrolled at RWU, 98 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 62 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $10,392. In addition to receiving other benefits, 3 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The low student loan default rate of 4.0% 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%. RWU also took the #5 spot in our Best Schools in Rhode Island rankings.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brown University. It ranked #3 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island list. Brown is a private not-for-profit institution located in Providence, Rhode Island. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 3,269 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
According to our most recent data, Brown supports 9,948 students, and 96 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 62 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $26,273. In addition to receiving other benefits, 58 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Brown also made our Best Schools in Rhode Island list, coming in at #1.
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island list means Rhode Island College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Providence, Rhode Island, the medium-sized public school handed out 1,665 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Our most recent data shows that 241 of the 7,072 students enrolled at RIC were GI Bill® students, of which 117 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,454. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island list means Providence College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Providence, Rhode Island, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 1,345 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
According to our most recent data, Providence supports 4,821 students, and 25 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 13 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $12,679. In addition to receiving other benefits, 3 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Providence also took the #2 spot in our Best Schools in Rhode Island rankings.
Johnson & Wales University - Providence came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island ranking. JWU Providence is located in Providence, Rhode Island and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2,058 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Among the 5,676 students enrolled at JWU Providence, 282 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 184 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $10,815. In addition to receiving other benefits, 16 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Salve Regina University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Newport, Rhode Island, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 739 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 2,771 students enrolled at Salve Regina, 69 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 56 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $14,216. On top of their other funding sources, 8 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Bryant University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island list. Bryant is located in Smithfield, Rhode Island and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1,104 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
According to our most recent data, Bryant supports 3,674 students, and 46 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 31 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $22,197. During this same period, 8 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Bryant does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Bryant not only placed well in our veterans ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Schools in Rhode Island list.
Community College of Rhode Island ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island list. Located in Warwick, Rhode Island, the fairly large public school awarded 2,106 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2019-2020.
Of the 13,684 students enrolled at CCRI, 478 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 324 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,038. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
New England Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island ranking, coming in at #10. New England Tech is a private not-for-profit institution located in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1,145 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Of the 2,031 students enrolled at New England Tech, 321 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 211 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $16,513. In addition to receiving other benefits, 69 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. New England Tech also took the #4 spot in our Best Schools in Rhode Island rankings.
Rhode Island School of Design ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges for Veterans in Rhode Island list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Providence, Rhode Island, and it awarded 684 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
According to our most recent data, RISD supports 2,227 students, and 14 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 11 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $28,114. In addition to receiving other benefits, 7 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Best Colleges for Veterans in the New England Region
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Best Colleges in the New England Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 11 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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