2023 Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 $30-$48k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in geoscience engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality geoscience engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the geoscience engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Geoscience Engineering Schools

The geoscience engineering school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k”.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region geoscience engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Geoscience Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Rocky Mountains Region

1

Colorado School of Mines
Golden, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$13,690 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 $30-$48k. This medium-sized school is located in Golden, Colorado, and it awarded 59 ’s geoscience engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region geoscience engineering students whose families make $30-$48k list, Mines has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Colorado School of Mines is $13,690 for rocky mountains region geoscience engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

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

Read full report on Geoscience Engineering at Colorado School of Mines

2

University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

#2 in overall quality

$11,823 Average Net Price

$51,388 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Utah. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $30-$48k. 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 also made our “Best Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend U of U is $11,823 for Rocky Mountains Region Geoscience Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of Utah Geoscience Engineering Report

3

Montana Technological University
Butte, Montana

#3 in overall quality

$11,712 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 $30-$48k list. Montana Tech is a public institution located in Butte, Montana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Montana Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Geoscience Engineering Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Montana Technological University is $11,712 for rocky mountains region geoscience engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Geoscience Engineering at Montana Technological University

• Best Value Colleges for Geoscience Engineering (Income $30-$48k)

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.