2023 Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains 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. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Geoscience Engineering is the 304th most popular major in the country with 325 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, geoscience engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $68,772 and had an average of $25,238 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 74 geoscience engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $90,048 and $27,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in geoscience engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geoscience 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 geoscience 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 Geoscience Engineering Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Geoscience Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

1

Colorado School of Mines
Golden, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$16,977 Average Net Price

$72,191 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Colorado School of Mines. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Golden, Colorado, this medium-sized public school awarded 59 diplomas to qualified ’s geoscience engineering students in 2020-2021.

Mines not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Colorado School of Mines is $16,977 for Rocky Mountains Region Geoscience Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Read more about Geoscience Engineering at Mines

2

University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

#2 in overall quality

$10,431 Average Net Price

$51,388 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Utah. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Utah is a public institution located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

U of U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend U of U is $10,431 for rocky mountains region geoscience engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Geoscience Engineering at U of U

3

Montana Technological University
Butte, Montana

#3 in overall quality

$11,954 Average Net Price

$63,042 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Montana Technological University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Montana Tech is located in Butte, Montana and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 ’s geoscience engineering degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region geoscience engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Montana Tech has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Montana Technological University is $11,954 for rocky mountains region geoscience engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Geoscience Engineering at Montana Technological University

• Best Value Colleges for Geoscience 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.