2023 Best Value Colleges for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Virginia

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering is the 94th most popular major in the country with 8,001 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, aerospace and aeronautical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $70,535 and had an average of $24,126 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 272 aerospace and aeronautical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $73,370 and $21,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in aerospace and aeronautical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent aerospace and aeronautical engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the aerospace and aeronautical engineering program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

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. 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 Aerospace Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Virginia

1

University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, Virginia

#2 in overall quality

$12,476 Average Net Price

$58,809 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it awarded 50 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

University of Virginia also made our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend University of Virginia is $12,476 for Virginia Aerospace Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at University of Virginia

2

Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$11,934 Average Net Price

$52,444 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Tech. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Aerospace Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Blacksburg, Virginia, and it awarded 222 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Virginia Tech also made our “Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $11,934 for virginia aerospace engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Virginia Tech.

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 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at Virginia Tech

• Best Value Colleges for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Colleges for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering (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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Ian3055.