2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology in California

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 “Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking.

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” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in mechanical engineering technology. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality mechanical engineering technology 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 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 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” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

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

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology in California

#1

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 that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University Maritime Academy landed the #1 spot on the list. California State University Maritime Academy is a public institution located in Vallejo, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 19 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Maritime, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $20,597 for California Bachelor’s Degree ME Tech students per year to attend Cal Maritime.

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%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering Technology at Cal Maritime

#2

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 that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #2 spot on the list. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a large school located in Pomona, California that handed out 34 bachelors’s ME tech degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Poly Pomona, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $12,734 for California Bachelor’s Degree ME Tech students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering Technology at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

#3

Art Center College of Design

Pasadena, California

#2 in overall quality

$47,080 Average Net Price

$78,343 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value ME Tech Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Art Center College of Design landed the #3 spot on the list. This small school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s ME tech degrees in 2019-2020.

Art Center College of Design also took the #2 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Art Center College of Design is $47,080 for California Bachelor’s Degree ME Tech students.

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%. 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.

Read full report on 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
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Technology

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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