2023 Best Value Trade School Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa
Identifying High-Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Value Trade School Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. This report analyzed 15 schools in Iowa to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for trade school students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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Top Value Trade Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Iowa State University the best value school in Iowa for trade school students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Ames, Iowa, the large public school awarded 6,795 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Iowa State are $26,617 a year. On average, bachelor’s degree students take out $20,682 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Iowa State. In 2020-2021 about 57% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Iowa State also made our Best Bachelor’s Degree Trade Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #2.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Northern Iowa helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value trade school schools in Iowa. UNI is a public institution located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 2,246 bachelor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNI are $20,565 per year. On average, bachelor’s degree students take out $19,029 in loans while pursuing their degree.
UNI does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 54% took at least some of their classes online.
UNI did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Bachelor’s Degree Trade Schools in Iowa list.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Iowa helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value trade school schools in Iowa. Iowa is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5,533 bachelor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Iowa undergraduate students pay an average of $32,316 in tuition and fees each year. On average, bachelor’s degree students take out $21,787 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Iowa does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 62% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Waldorf University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in Forest City, Iowa, the small private for-profit school awarded 592 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Waldorf are $24,526 a year. On average, bachelor’s degree students take out $22,767 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Waldorf. During the 2020-2021 year, about 69% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Waldorf also made our Best Bachelor’s Degree Trade Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #1.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. NWC is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Orange City, Iowa. It awarded 259 bachelor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at NWC are $34,250 a year. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $19,468 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Online courses are available at NWC, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 23% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
NWC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Bachelor’s Degree Trade Schools in Iowa list.
Upper Iowa University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree trade school programs. UIU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Fayette, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1,004 bachelor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIU are $33,639 per year. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $26,492 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at UIU. In 2020-2021 about 73% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #7, Dordt University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 344 bachelor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Dordt are $34,600 a year.
Dordt does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 28% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #8, Graceland University - Lamoni did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their bachelor’s degree. Graceland Lamoni is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lamoni, Iowa. It awarded 281 bachelor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Graceland Lamoni are $31,970 a year. On average, bachelor’s degree students take out $22,242 in loans while pursuing their degree.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Graceland Lamoni. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 4% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #9, Morningside College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their bachelor’s degree. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Sioux City, Iowa, and it awarded 294 bachelor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Morningside are $36,610 per year. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $23,887 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Morningside does offer online classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 5% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Luther College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Decorah, Iowa. It awarded 499 bachelor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Luther are $48,160 a year.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Luther. In fact, around 8% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Luther also took the #5 spot in our Best Bachelor’s Degree Trade Schools in Iowa rankings.
With a ranking of #11, Mount Mercy University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their bachelor’s degree. Mount Mercy is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 438 bachelor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Mount Mercy are $37,606 a year. On average, bachelor’s degree students take out $21,821 in loans while pursuing their degree.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Mount Mercy. In 2020-2021 about 25% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Briar Cliff University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Briar Cliff is located in Sioux City, Iowa and has a very small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 183 bachelor’s degrees to qualified students.
Briar Cliff undergraduate students pay an average of $34,095 in tuition and fees each year. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $21,760 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Briar Cliff does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 31% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #13, University of Dubuque did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Dubuque, Iowa, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 412 bachelor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
UD undergraduate students pay an average of $38,526 in tuition and fees each year. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $24,525 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at UD. During the 2020-2021 year, about 13% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Clarke University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree trade school programs. Clarke is located in Dubuque, Iowa and has a very small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 189 bachelor’s degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Clarke are $38,060 per year. By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $26,471 in student loans.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Clarke does offer online classes for certain majors. In fact, around 67% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #15, Coe College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their bachelor’s degree. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it awarded 434 bachelor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Coe undergraduate students pay an average of $50,664 in tuition and fees each year.
Best Value Trade Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 15 schools only.
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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