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2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering

17 Ranked Colleges
1,837 Degrees Awarded
$31,200 Avg Cost*
Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering

When it comes to choosing a college, veterans 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 “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 11,796 people earned their degree in general engineering, making the major the 79th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, general engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $68,873 and had an average of $20,557 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southwest region, there were 1,837 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $70,584 and $19,521 respectively.

This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering” ranking looked at 17 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 offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, 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

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region vets studying engineering.

Top 17 Best General Engineering Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas A&M University - College Station. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering. College Station, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s engineering degrees to 70 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying engineering list, Texas A&M College Station has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Texas A&M College Station supports 70,418 students, and 5 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 4 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,925. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Texas A&M College Station offers credit for military training for eligible students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Texas A&M University - College Station]](/colleges/texas-a-and-m-university-college-station/student-life/veterans/)

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Tempe. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering list. Located in Tempe, Arizona, this large public school handed out 174 diplomas to qualified ’s engineering students in 2020-2021.

ASU - Tempe also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, ASU - Tempe supports 74,795 students, and 7,566 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 3,828 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,068. On top of their other funding sources, 672 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. ASU - Tempe offers credit for military training for eligible students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read More…

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering. UNM is a public institution located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The school has a large population, and it awarded 23 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UNM not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 1 of the 22,311 students enrolled at University of New Mexico - Main Campus were GI Bill® students, of which 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. During this same period, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of New Mexico - Main Campus offers credit for military training for eligible students.

Read More…

4
University of Arizona crest
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Arizona. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering. University of Arizona is a public institution located in Tucson, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 29 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

University of Arizona did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, University of Arizona supports 45,601 students, and 2,131 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1,478 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $8,880. During this same period, 31 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Arizona offers credit for military training for eligible students.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read More…

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas Christian University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering list. Texas Christian University is a fairly large school located in Fort Worth, Texas that handed out 45 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

TCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, TCU supports 11,379 students, and 520 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 405 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $23,096. To help with additional expenses, 343 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. TCU does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read More…

6

Oklahoma Christian University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering ranking. OC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The school has a small population, and it awarded 60 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying engineering list, OC has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 2,055 students enrolled at OC, 81 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 49 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,775. To help with additional expenses, 8 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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…

7
Texas Tech crest
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas

With a ranking of #7, Texas Tech University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering list. Lubbock, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s engineering degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying engineering list, Texas Tech has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 1,242 of the 40,322 students enrolled at Texas Tech were GI Bill® students, of which 630 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,480. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full Texas Tech University Veteran Student Life Report

8

Austin Community College District ranked #8 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering list. Austin Community College District is a large school located in Austin, Texas that handed out 85 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Austin Community College District also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 39,896 students enrolled at Austin Community College District, 2,473 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 59 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $735. During this same period, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Full Austin Community College District Veteran Student Life Report

9

New Mexico State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering ranking, coming in at #9. NMSU Main Campus is a fairly large school located in Las Cruces, New Mexico that handed out 33 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying engineering list, NMSU Main Campus has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, New Mexico State University - Main Campus supports 14,227 students, and 620 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 285 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $3,880. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. New Mexico State University - Main Campus does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

Full NMSU Main Campus Veteran Student Life Report

10

Southern Methodist University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering ranking, coming in at #10. SMU is a fairly large school located in Dallas, Texas that handed out 5 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

SMU also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Among the 12,373 students enrolled at Southern Methodist University, 327 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 215 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $15,612. In addition to receiving other benefits, 103 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Southern Methodist University]](/colleges/southern-methodist-university/student-life/veterans/)

11
Lamar University crest
Lamar University
Beaumont, Texas

Lamar University ranked #11 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering list. This fairly large school is located in Beaumont, Texas, and it awarded 48 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Lamar University also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Among the 16,637 students enrolled at Lamar University, 692 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 353 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,108. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

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

Read More…

12

Oral Roberts University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering ranking. Oral Roberts University is a small school located in Tulsa, Oklahoma that handed out 27 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

ORU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 135 of the 4,317 students enrolled at ORU were GI Bill® students, of which 76 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $10,157. In addition to receiving other benefits, 4 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Oral Roberts University]](/colleges/oral-roberts-university/student-life/veterans/)

13
Texas State crest
Texas State University
San Marcos, Texas

Texas State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering ranking, coming in at #13. Texas State University is a large school located in San Marcos, Texas that handed out 31 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Texas State also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Texas State University supports 37,812 students, and 2,559 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1,197 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,635. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Read More…

14

With a ranking of #14, Prairie View A & M University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering list. Prairie View A & M University is a medium-sized school located in Prairie View, Texas that handed out 16 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying engineering list, PVAMU has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 9,248 students enrolled at Prairie View A & M University, 571 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 156 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,470. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Prairie View A & M University]](/colleges/prairie-view-a-and-m-university/student-life/veterans/)

15

West Texas A&M University ranked #15 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering list. West Texas A&M University is a public institution located in Canyon, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 6 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at West Texas A&M University, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 446 of the 10,036 students enrolled at West Texas A&M University were GI Bill® students, of which 191 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,617. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. West Texas A&M University offers credit for military training for eligible students.

Read More…

16

The University of Texas at El Paso ranked #16 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering list. The University of Texas at El Paso is located in El Paso, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 ’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

UTEP did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 1,873 of the 24,879 students enrolled at UTEP were GI Bill® students, of which 942 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,990. On top of their other funding sources, 2 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. UTEP does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

[Read full report on veteran student life at UTEP]](/colleges/the-university-of-texas-at-el-paso/student-life/veterans/)

17

Baylor University ranked #17 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Engineering list. Baylor University is located in Waco, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 ’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

Baylor did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 19,297 students enrolled at Baylor, 876 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 593 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $17,744. During this same period, 263 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Baylor offers credit for military training for eligible students.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read More…

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Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

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