Best Value Colleges for Natural Sciences
Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.
8
Schools Ranked
$29,013
Avg. Earnings
11.2 yrs
Best Payback
220
Graduates
How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.
| # | School | Major Earnings | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Temple University Philadelphia, PA · Public | $42,682 | 11.2 yrs |
| 2 | Dominican University River Forest, IL · Private | $35,416 | 181.1 yrs |
| 3 | Kansas State University Manhattan, KS · Public | $24,035 | N/A |
| 4 | Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Harrisburg, PA · Private | $30,554 | N/A |
| 5 | Christian Brothers University Memphis, TN · Private | $20,824 | N/A |
| 6 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR · Public | $29,685 | N/A |
| 7 | Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR · Public | $29,685 | N/A |
| 8 | Felician University Lodi, NJ · Private | $19,227 | N/A |
Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.