2024 Best Value ME Schools in Washington
9
Ranked Colleges
1,078
Degrees Awarded
$21,400
Avg Net Price*
With all of the options students 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 Value ME Schools in Washington” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Mechanical Engineering is the 21st most popular major in the country with 46,178 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $69,007 and had an average of $23,944 in loans still to pay off.
Across Washington, there were 1,078 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $67,256 and $21,439 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value ME Schools in Washington” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent mechanical engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value ME Schools in Washington” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Best Value ME Schools in Washington
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value ME Schools in Washington.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in Washington
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #1 spot on the list. Seattle, Washington is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s me degrees to 259 students in 2020-2021.
UW Seattle not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Washington” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Washington - Seattle Campus is $12,017 for washington me students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Full University of Washington - Seattle Campus Mechanical Engineering Report
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Pullman, Washington, this large public school awarded 319 diplomas to qualified ’s me students in 2020-2021.
Wazzu also took the #2 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Washington” ranking. It costs about $15,300 for Washington ME students per year to attend Washington State University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Washington State University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Eastern Washington University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value ME Schools in Washington. This fairly large school is located in Cheney, Washington, and it awarded 77 ’s me degrees in 2020-2021.
EWU also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Washington” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for Eastern Washington University is $12,335 for Washington ME students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Eastern Washington University
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Walla Walla University landed the #4 spot on the list. Walla Walla University is a small school located in College Place, Washington that handed out 25 ’s me degrees in 2020-2021.
Walla Walla U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Washington” list. The estimated yearly cost for Walla Walla University is $22,823 for Washington ME students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Walla Walla U Mechanical Engineering Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Martin’s University. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Value ME Schools in Washington list. Saint Martin’s is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lacey, Washington. It awarded 41 ’s me degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Saint Martin’s, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Washington” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Saint Martin’s is $22,580 for Washington ME students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Saint Martin’s
Seattle Pacific University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value ME Schools in Washington ranking, coming in at #6. Seattle Pacific University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Seattle, Washington. The school has a small population, and it awarded 17 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
SPU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Washington” list. The estimated yearly cost for Seattle Pacific University is $26,714 for washington me students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Seattle Pacific University
With a ranking of #7, Seattle University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value ME Schools in Washington list. Seattle University is a medium-sized school located in Seattle, Washington that handed out 39 ’s me degrees in 2020-2021.
Seattle U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Washington” list. The yearly cost to attend Seattle University is $35,109 for Washington ME students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Seattle University
With a ranking of #8, University of Washington - Bothell Campus did quite well on the 2024 Best Value ME Schools in Washington list. University of Washington - Bothell Campus is located in Bothell, Washington and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 63 ’s me degrees to qualified students.
UW Bothell not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Washington” list. The yearly cost to attend UW Bothell is $11,562 for washington me students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at UW Bothell
Gonzaga University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value ME Schools in Washington ranking, coming in at #9. This medium-sized school is located in Spokane, Washington, and it awarded 80 ’s me degrees in 2020-2021.
Gonzaga did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Washington” list. The estimated yearly cost for Gonzaga University is $34,451 for Washington ME students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Gonzaga
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Notes and References
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%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits