2023 Best Value Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Pennsylvania
8
Ranked Colleges
444
Degrees Awarded
$16,000
Avg Net Price*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.
In 2020-2021, 9,018 people earned their degree in general engineering, making the major the 96th most popular in the United States.
Across Pennsylvania, there were 444 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general 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 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 in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Pennsylvania
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Carnegie Mellon University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k. Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 35 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Carnegie Mellon, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Carnegie Mellon is $16,456 for Pennsylvania Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on General Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Swarthmore College landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 23 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Swarthmore also made our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Swarthmore College is $4,594 for pennsylvania engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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%.
Full Swarthmore General Engineering Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Lafayette College landed the #3 spot on the list. Lafayette College is a small school located in Easton, Pennsylvania that handed out 19 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Lafayette also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $11,728 for pennsylvania engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Lafayette.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.3% 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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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 Lafayette College
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Villanova University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k. Villanova, Pennsylvania is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s engineering degrees to 18 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Villanova, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Villanova University is $24,907 for Pennsylvania Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about General Engineering at Villanova University
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 in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k. Geneva is located in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 50 ’s engineering degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Geneva, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Geneva College is $15,582 for Pennsylvania Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about General Engineering at Geneva
With a ranking of #6, Temple University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Temple University is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 ’s engineering degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Temple, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $18,173 for Pennsylvania Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Temple.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Engineering at Temple University
Elizabethtown College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. Elizabethtown College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. It awarded 38 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Etown, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Elizabethtown College is $18,069 for Pennsylvania Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Engineering at Elizabethtown College
Messiah University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s engineering degrees to 55 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Messiah, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Messiah is $18,751 for pennsylvania engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on General Engineering at Messiah
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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
- *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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