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

10 Ranked Colleges
257 Degrees Awarded
$16,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

General Engineering is the 83rd most popular major in the country with 9,411 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across Pennsylvania, there were 427 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 257 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general engineering programs and 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 program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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 Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Pennsylvania

#1

Swarthmore College

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Swarthmore College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Swarthmore College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. It awarded 24 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Swarthmore not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $5,860 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Swarthmore.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Swarthmore General Engineering Report

#2

Lafayette College

Easton, Pennsylvania
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Lafayette College landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Easton, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 18 degrees to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Lafayette has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $6,934 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Lafayette College.

The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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 87%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about General Engineering at Lafayette College

#3

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Carnegie Mellon University landed the #3 spot on the list. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that handed out 26 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Carnegie Mellon did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $12,542 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Carnegie Mellon University.

The low student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about General Engineering at Carnegie Mellon

#4

Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Elizabethtown College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k. Elizabethtown College is located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 24 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

Etown also made our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $19,191 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Elizabethtown College.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Read full report on General Engineering at Etown

#5

Geneva College

Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
#9 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Geneva College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k. Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 72 students in 2019-2020.

Geneva did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend Geneva College is $16,158 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Engineering at Geneva

#6

Messiah University

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Messiah University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Messiah University is located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 61 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Messiah, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Messiah University is $20,824 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on General Engineering at Messiah University

#7

Temple University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#10 in overall quality

Temple University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Temple has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $18,315 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Temple.

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

Read full report on General Engineering at Temple

#8

Saint Francis University

Loretto, Pennsylvania
#7 in overall quality

Saint Francis University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Saint Francis is a small school located in Loretto, Pennsylvania that handed out 2 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Saint Francis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for Saint Francis University is $21,504 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Engineering at Saint Francis University

#9

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#8 in overall quality

Thomas Jefferson University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Thomas Jefferson University is a medium-sized school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 4 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Thomas Jefferson University also made our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for Thomas Jefferson University is $18,118 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Thomas Jefferson University General Engineering Report

#10

Drexel University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#6 in overall quality

Drexel University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Drexel, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Drexel is $25,234 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.

Full Drexel General Engineering Report

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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 Rémi Kaupp.

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