2023 Best Value Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Geological & Geophysical Engineering is the 726th most popular major in the country with 325 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across the Plains States region, there were 177 geological and geophysical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in geological and geophysical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geological and geophysical engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the geological and geophysical engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools

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

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Geological & Geophysical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, Minnesota

#3 in overall quality

$7,698 Average Net Price

$50,445 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. UMN Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 7 ’s geological and geophysical engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

UMN Twin Cities did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $7,698 for Plains States Region Geological & Geophysical Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UMN Twin Cities.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UMN Twin Cities Geological & Geophysical Engineering Report

2

Missouri University of Science and Technology
Rolla, Missouri

#1 in overall quality

$7,356 Average Net Price

$63,979 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Missouri University of Science and Technology. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Missouri University of Science and Technology is a medium-sized public school situated in Rolla, Missouri. It awarded 140 ’s geological and geophysical engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Missouri University of Science and Technology also took the #1 spot in our “Best Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $7,356 for plains states region geological & geophysical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Geological & Geophysical Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology

3

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Rapid City, South Dakota

#2 in overall quality

$16,705 Average Net Price

$64,929 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology landed the #3 spot on the list. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is a small school located in Rapid City, South Dakota that handed out 25 ’s geological and geophysical engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

SD Mines also took the #2 spot in our “Best Geological & Geophysical Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SD Mines is $16,705 for plains states region geological & geophysical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.

Read full report on Geological & Geophysical Engineering at SD Mines

• Best Value Colleges for Geological & Geophysical 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.