2023 Best Value Engineering Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k

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 Engineering Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 994 people earned their degree in engineering physics, making the major the 244th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, engineering physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $53,863 and had an average of $25,114 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 86 engineering physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $43,721 and $24,373 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in engineering physics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality engineering physics programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the engineering physics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Engineering Physics Schools

The engineering physics school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Engineering Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Engineering Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region engineering physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Engineering Physics (Income $0-$30k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

1

Colorado School of Mines
Golden, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$16,977 Average Net Price

$72,191 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado School of Mines. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Colorado School of Mines is located in Golden, Colorado and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 59 ’s engineering physics degrees to qualified students.

Mines not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Engineering Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Colorado School of Mines is $16,977 for Rocky Mountains Region Engineering Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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 full report on Engineering Physics at Mines

2

University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, Colorado

#2 in overall quality

$13,141 Average Net Price

$48,893 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Colorado Boulder. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Engineering Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Boulder, Colorado is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s engineering physics degrees to 27 students in 2020-2021.

CU - Boulder also made our “Best Engineering Physics Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend University of Colorado Boulder is $13,141 for Rocky Mountains Region Engineering Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 Physics at CU - Boulder

• Best Value Colleges for Engineering Physics (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 NASA.