2023 Best Value Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $75-$110k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Applied Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 994 people earned their degree in engineering and applied physics, making the major the 448th most popular in the United States.

Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 86 engineering and applied physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in engineering and applied physics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent engineering and applied physics programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

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

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 Applied Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $75-$110k” 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region applied physics students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $75-$110k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

1

University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, Colorado

#2 in overall quality

$25,326 Average Net Price

$48,893 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Colorado Boulder landed the #1 spot on the list. CU - Boulder is a large school located in Boulder, Colorado that handed out 27 ’s applied physics degrees in 2020-2021.

CU - Boulder did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $25,326 for Rocky Mountains Region Applied Physics students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend CU - Boulder.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 Engineering & Applied Physics at University of Colorado Boulder

2

Colorado School of Mines
Golden, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$31,412 Average Net Price

$72,191 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Applied Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado School of Mines landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Golden, Colorado, this medium-sized public school awarded 59 diplomas to qualified ’s applied physics students in 2020-2021.

Mines also took the #1 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Mines is $31,412 for Rocky Mountains Region Applied Physics students whose families make $75-$110k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, 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 92%.

Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at Colorado School of Mines

• Best Value Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $75-$110k)

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 NASA.