2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering Science (Income $0-$30k) in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Engineering Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

General Engineering Science is the 337th most popular major in the country with 1,668 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 119 general engineering science graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 68 general engineering science graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general engineering science. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general engineering science 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 general engineering science program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank General Engineering Science Schools

The engineering science 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 Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Engineering Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree engineering science students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering Science (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California

#1 in overall quality

$8,392 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 17 degrees to qualified bachelors’s engineering science students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best General Engineering Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $8,392 for california bachelor’s degree engineering science students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Berkeley.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on General Engineering Science at UC Berkeley

#2

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, California

#2 in overall quality

$12,475 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 18 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree engineering science students whose families make $0-$30k list, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Engineering Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is $12,475 for california bachelor’s degree engineering science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read full report on General Engineering Science at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

#3

California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, California

#3 in overall quality

$3,423 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Bakersfield. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Bakersfield, California, this fairly large public school awarded 33 degrees to qualified bachelors’s engineering science students in 2019-2020.

CSUB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Engineering Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CSUB is $3,423 for california bachelor’s degree engineering science students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Engineering Science at CSUB

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering Science (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering Science (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 Nicolás Pérez.

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