2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Virginia 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 Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 9,018 people earned their degree in general engineering, making the major the 96th most popular in the United States.

Across Virginia, there were 649 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree 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. 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 Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Virginia

1

Old Dominion University
Norfolk, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$13,335 Average Net Price

$46,278 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Old Dominion University landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Norfolk, Virginia, and it awarded 113 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Old Dominion also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Old Dominion University is $13,335 for Virginia Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Engineering at Old Dominion

2

James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia

#2 in overall quality

$14,288 Average Net Price

$46,195 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend James Madison University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, this large public school handed out 76 degrees to qualified ’s engineering students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our virginia engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, JMU has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for JMU is $14,288 for Virginia Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, 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 89%.

Read full report on General Engineering at JMU

3

Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia

#3 in overall quality

$14,507 Average Net Price

$47,786 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #3 spot on the list. Virginia Commonwealth University is a large public school situated in Richmond, Virginia. It awarded 13 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

VCU also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Virginia Commonwealth University is $14,507 for virginia engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 VCU

• Best Value Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Colleges for General Engineering (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 Rémi Kaupp.