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Best Value General Education Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Pennsylvania

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

28 Colleges
$34,067 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$51,017 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education School for You

With 1,014 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, general education is the #46 most popular major in Pennsylvania.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value General Education Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Our analysis looked at 28 schools in Pennsylvania to see which programs offered the best value experiences for education students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Pennsylvania

The following schools top our list of the Best Value General Education Colleges.

Top 10 Best General Education Schools

#1

La Salle University

Philadelphia, PA
$33,150 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found La Salle University to be the best value school for general education students who want to pursue a degree in Pennsylvania. Located in the city of Philadelphia, La Salle is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at La Salle are $33,150 per year.

Read full report on General Education at La Salle University

#2

Cabrini University

Radnor, PA
$33,845 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Cabrini University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in Pennsylvania. Cabrini University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Radnor.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cabrini University are $33,845 per year. While working on their degree, education majors at Cabrini University accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

Read full report on General Education at Cabrini University

#3

Lehigh Carbon Community College

Schnecksville, PA
$8,430 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 28 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Lehigh Carbon Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Schnecksville, LCCC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at LCCC are $8,430 a year. On average, education graduates from LCCC take out $11,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend York College of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in Pennsylvania list. YCP is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of York.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at YCP are $22,350 a year.

Full General Education at York College of Pennsylvania Report

#5

Wilson College

Chambersburg, PA
$26,200 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Wilson College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in Pennsylvania. Located in the small city of Chambersburg, Wilson is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Wilson are $26,200 a year.

Read More…

#6

Westminster College Pennsylvania

New Wilmington, PA
$38,230 Average Tuition & Fees

Westminster College Pennsylvania landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general education programs. Located in the fringe town of New Wilmington, Westminster New Wilmington is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Westminster New Wilmington are $38,230 a year.

Read full report on General Education at Westminster College Pennsylvania

$12,256 Average Tuition & Fees

Millersville University of Pennsylvania landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general education programs. Millersville is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Millersville.

Millersville undergraduate students pay an average of $12,256 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#8

Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA
$31,640 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, Holy Family University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Holy Family is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Holy Family are $31,640 per year.

Read More…

#9

Messiah University

Mechanicsburg, PA
$38,370 Average Tuition & Fees

Messiah University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in Pennsylvania list. Messiah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Mechanicsburg.

Messiah undergraduate students pay an average of $38,370 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$11,108 Average Tuition & Fees

California University of Pennsylvania came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Cal U is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of California.

Cal U undergraduate students pay an average of $11,108 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full General Education at California University of Pennsylvania Report

Best Value General Education Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value General Education Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 604
Maryland 1,286
New Jersey 702
District of Columbia 79
Delaware 134

One of 14 majors within the area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
Special Education 36,792
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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