by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region” ranking.
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 Plains States region, there were 2,950 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $67,644 and $25,449 respectively.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region” ranking analyzed 30 colleges that offered a degree in mechanical engineering. That schools that top this list have a program in mechanical engineering in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region” list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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.
The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region me students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region list. SD Mines is a public institution located in Rapid City, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 64 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 30 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Missouri University of Science and Technology landed the #2 spot on the list. Missouri University of Science and Technology is a public institution located in Rolla, Missouri. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 272 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology
Out of the 30 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 451 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.
Out of the 30 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, North Dakota State University - Main Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. North Dakota State University - Main Campus is a public institution located in Fargo, North Dakota. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 170 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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 full report on Mechanical Engineering at North Dakota State University
Out of the 30 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Dordt University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 23 degrees to qualified ’s ME students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #6, University of Minnesota - Duluth did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region list. University of Minnesota - Duluth is a medium-sized school located in Duluth, Minnesota that handed out 121 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 Minnesota - Duluth
With a ranking of #7, Benedictine College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region list. Benedictine College is a small school located in Atchison, Kansas that handed out 20 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of St Thomas Minnesota landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking. Saint Paul, Minnesota is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s ME degrees to 105 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
University of North Dakota landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking. UND is located in Grand Forks, North Dakota and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 112 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of North Dakota
South Dakota State University ranked #10 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region list. South Dakota State University is a fairly large school located in Brookings, South Dakota that handed out 80 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% 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 South Dakota State University
Kansas State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking. K -State is a public institution located in Manhattan, Kansas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 182 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #12, Wichita State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region list. Wichita, Kansas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 102 students in 2020-2021.
Washington University in St Louis landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Saint Louis, Missouri, and it awarded 156 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
University of Jamestown did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #14. University of Jamestown is a small school located in Jamestown, North Dakota that handed out 6 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at University of Jamestown
With a ranking of #15, University of Nebraska - Lincoln did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region list. UNL is located in Lincoln, Nebraska and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 151 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 University of Nebraska - Lincoln
With a ranking of #16, University of Missouri - Kansas City did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region list. Located in Kansas City, Missouri, this fairly large public school awarded 79 degrees to qualified ’s ME students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #17 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region list. UMN Twin Cities is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 285 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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 full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
University of Kansas came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking. KU is a large school located in Lawrence, Kansas that handed out 140 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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 University of Kansas
University of Missouri - Columbia landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking. This large school is located in Columbia, Missouri, and it awarded 168 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, 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 89%.
Saint Ambrose University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #20. Saint Ambrose University is a small school located in Davenport, Iowa that handed out 15 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Saint Cloud State University landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking. Saint Cloud State University is a public institution located in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 36 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Saint Cloud State University
With a ranking of #22, University of Iowa did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region list. This large school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 121 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Dunwoody College of Technology landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking. Dunwoody College of Technology is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Dunwoody College of Technology
University of Missouri - St Louis came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking. UMSL is located in Saint Louis, Missouri and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 27 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of Missouri - St Louis
Minnesota State University - Mankato came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on ME Major in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Mankato, Minnesota, this fairly large public school awarded 31 diplomas to qualified ’s ME students in 2020-2021.
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%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
