2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology (Income $0-$30k) in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 6,707 people earned their degree in mechanical engineering technology, making the major the 126th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, mechanical engineering technology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,659 and had an average of $22,928 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 273 mechanical engineering technology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $32,295 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 91 mechanical engineering technology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in mechanical engineering technology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great mechanical engineering technology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

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

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Technology Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree me tech students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

California State University Maritime Academy

Vallejo, California

#1 in overall quality

$12,774 Average Net Price

$107,758 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University Maritime Academy. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. California State University Maritime Academy is a small school located in Vallejo, California that handed out 19 bachelors’s ME tech degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Maritime also took the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cal Maritime is $12,774 for california bachelor’s degree me tech students whose families make $0-$30k.

The 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 full report on Mechanical Engineering Technology at Cal Maritime

#2

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona, California

#3 in overall quality

$8,596 Average Net Price

$53,775 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #2 spot on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is a large public school situated in Pomona, California. It awarded 34 bachelors’s ME tech degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cal Poly Pomona is $8,596 for california bachelor’s degree me tech students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, 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 students.

Full Cal Poly Pomona Mechanical Engineering Technology Report

#3

Art Center College of Design

Pasadena, California

#2 in overall quality

$42,297 Average Net Price

$78,343 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Art Center College of Design. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Pasadena, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s ME tech degrees to 38 students in 2019-2020.

Art Center College of Design not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Art Center College of Design is $42,297 for california bachelor’s degree me tech students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low 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 student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Art Center College of Design Mechanical Engineering Technology Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology (Income $0-$30k)

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.

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