General Physical Sciences is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #43 most popular associate degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 7 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Physical Sciences Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 674 associate degrees in general physical sciences to qualified students.
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Choosing a Great General Physical Sciences School for Your Associate Degree
Your choice of general physical sciences for getting your associate degree school matters. Important measures of a quality physical science program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Early-Career Salaries
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their associate degree from the school. After all, your associate degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to general physical sciences students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - The number of general physical sciences students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
Student Debt - How much debt general physical sciences students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized general physical sciences related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for general physical sciences students working on their associate degree.
More Ways to Rank General Physical Sciences Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Physical Sciences Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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Middlesex County College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in general physical sciences. Middlesex County College is a large public college located in the suburb of Edison.
Those general physical sciences students who get their associate degree from Middlesex County College make $2,272 more than the average physical science student.
LaGuardia Community College is a good decision for individuals pursuing an associate degree in general physical sciences. LaGuardia is a fairly large public college located in the city of Long Island City.
Associate students who receive their degree from the physical science program make an average of $19,815 in their early career salary.
Medgar Evers College is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in general physical sciences. Located in the large city of Brooklyn, Medgar is a public college with a small student population.
Associate recipients from the general physical sciences degree program at Medgar Evers College make $2,339 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
It is difficult to beat Borough of Manhattan Community College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in general physical sciences. Located in the large city of New York, BMCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Those general physical sciences students who get their associate degree from Borough of Manhattan Community College earn $2,084 more than the standard physical science graduate.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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.
Your choice of general physical sciences for getting your associate degree school matters. Important measures of a quality physical science program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
