2023 Best Value Colleges for Engineering Design (Income $0-$30k)

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Engineering Design Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Engineering Design is the 991st most popular major in the country with 115 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Design Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 2 colleges that offered a degree in engineering design. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality engineering design programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the engineering design program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Engineering Design Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Engineering Design Schools For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for engineering design students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Engineering Design (Income $0-$30k)

1

Arizona State University - Tempe
Tempe, Arizona

#1 in overall quality

$8,969 Average Net Price

$49,374 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Engineering Design Schools For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Tempe, Arizona, and it awarded 13 ’s engineering design degrees in 2020-2021.

ASU - Tempe not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Engineering Design Schools” list. It costs about $8,969 for engineering design students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend ASU - Tempe.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%.

Full ASU - Tempe Engineering Design Report

2

Saint Cloud State University
Saint Cloud, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$10,348 Average Net Price

$45,870 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Saint Cloud State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Engineering Design Schools For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, and it awarded 13 ’s engineering design degrees in 2020-2021.

St. Cloud State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Engineering Design Schools” list. It costs about $10,348 for engineering design students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend St. Cloud State University.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Saint Cloud State University Engineering Design Report

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

Footnotes

• *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.