2023 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in the Rocky Mountains Region
18
Ranked Colleges
2,429
Degrees Awarded
$16,300
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
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 the Rocky Mountains region, there were 2,429 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $66,781 and $23,591 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking, we looked at 18 colleges that offer a degree in mechanical engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality mechanical engineering programs that also have a lower cost than 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The me school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region me students.
Top 18 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in the Rocky Mountains Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brigham Young University - Provo. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. BYU is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Provo, Utah. It awarded 199 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
BYU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for BYU is $13,474 for Rocky Mountains Region ME students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 more about Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University - Provo
Out of the 18 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Brigham Young University - Idaho landed the #2 spot on the list. BYU - I is a large school located in Rexburg, Idaho that handed out 108 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
BYU - I also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #13. It costs about $6,698 for Rocky Mountains Region ME students per year to attend Brigham Young University - Idaho.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Brigham Young University - Idaho Mechanical Engineering Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wyoming. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. This fairly large school is located in Laramie, Wyoming, and it awarded 72 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
UW also took the #8 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Wyoming is $11,085 for rocky mountains region me students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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 University of Wyoming
Out of the 18 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Utah State University landed the #4 spot on the list. USU is a large public school situated in Logan, Utah. It awarded 165 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
USU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for USU is $13,257 for rocky mountains region me students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Utah State University Mechanical Engineering Report
Out of the 18 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Utah landed the #5 spot on the list. U of U is a public institution located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The school has a large population, and it awarded 236 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at U of U, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend U of U is $13,572 for Rocky Mountains Region ME students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at U of U
University of Idaho came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Located in Moscow, Idaho, this fairly large public school handed out 92 diplomas to qualified ’s ME students in 2020-2021.
U of I also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $13,964 for rocky mountains region me students per year to attend University of Idaho.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at U of I
Colorado State University - Fort Collins ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Colorado State is located in Fort Collins, Colorado and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 172 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
Colorado State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Colorado State University - Fort Collins is $18,679 for rocky mountains region 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 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 Colorado State University - Fort Collins
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this fairly large public school awarded 102 degrees to qualified ’s ME students in 2020-2021.
UCCS did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UCCS is $15,648 for Rocky Mountains Region ME students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UCCS Mechanical Engineering Report
Boise State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Boise, Idaho is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 99 students in 2020-2021.
Boise State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $16,153 for rocky mountains region me students per year to attend Boise State University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Boise State University
Montana Technological University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #10. This small school is located in Butte, Montana, and it awarded 33 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
Montana Tech also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #15. The estimated yearly cost for Montana Tech is $15,814 for rocky mountains region me students.
Full Montana Tech Mechanical Engineering Report
Montana State University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Bozeman, Montana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 165 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our rocky mountains region me students list, MSU Bozeman has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Montana State University is $19,453 for Rocky Mountains Region ME students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Montana State University
Utah Valley University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Orem, Utah is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 31 students in 2020-2021.
UVU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #17 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $9,955 for rocky mountains region me students per year to attend Utah Valley University.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UVU Mechanical Engineering Report
With a ranking of #13, University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus did quite well on the 2023 Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Denver, Colorado is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 66 students in 2020-2021.
CU Anschutz also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #12. The yearly cost to attend University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus is $14,470 for Rocky Mountains Region ME students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 CU Anschutz
Idaho State University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Pocatello, Idaho is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 37 students in 2020-2021.
ISU also took the #16 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for ISU is $17,410 for Rocky Mountains Region ME students.
Full Idaho State University Mechanical Engineering Report
Weber State University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. WSU is located in Ogden, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 16 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at WSU, the school also landed the #18 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend WSU is $11,647 for Rocky Mountains Region ME students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at WSU
University of Colorado Boulder ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. University of Colorado Boulder is located in Boulder, Colorado and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 329 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
CU - Boulder also took the #2 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Colorado Boulder is $20,967 for Rocky Mountains Region ME students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full CU - Boulder Mechanical Engineering Report
Colorado School of Mines landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Located in Golden, Colorado, this medium-sized public school awarded 361 diplomas to qualified ’s ME students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mines, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Colorado School of Mines is $27,114 for rocky mountains region me students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Colorado School of Mines
University of Denver landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Best Value ME Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. University of Denver is a fairly large school located in Denver, Colorado that handed out 42 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
DU also took the #6 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $33,830 for rocky mountains region me students per year to attend University of Denver.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Denver Mechanical Engineering Report
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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