2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology in California (With Aid)

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 Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Mechanical Engineering Technology is the 126th most popular major in the country with 6,707 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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.

This year’s “Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Technology Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree me tech students with aid.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology in California (With Aid)

#1

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona, California

#3 in overall quality

$12,734 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 Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #1 spot on the list. Pomona, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ME tech degrees to 34 students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $12,734 for california bachelor’s degree me tech students with aid per year to attend Cal Poly Pomona.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering Technology at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

#2

California State University Maritime Academy

Vallejo, California

#1 in overall quality

$20,597 Average Net Price

$107,758 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University Maritime Academy landed the #2 spot on the list. California State University Maritime Academy is located in Vallejo, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19 bachelors’s ME tech degrees to qualified students.

Cal Maritime did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California State University Maritime Academy is $20,597 for California Bachelor’s Degree ME Tech students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.1% 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%.

Full Cal Maritime Mechanical Engineering Technology Report

#3

Art Center College of Design

Pasadena, California

#2 in overall quality

$47,080 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 Getting Aid list. Located in Pasadena, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 38 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s ME tech students in 2019-2020.

Art Center College of Design also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Art Center College of Design is $47,080 for California Bachelor’s Degree ME Tech students with aid.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering Technology at Art Center College of Design

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology in the Far Western US Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology (With Aid)

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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