2022 Best Value Colleges for General Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in South Carolina

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 47,598 people earned their degree in general mechanical engineering, making the major the 12th most popular in the United States.

Across South Carolina, there were 589 general mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in general mechanical engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general mechanical engineering programs that also have a lower cost than 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 mechanical engineering program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for south carolina general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

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

#1

Citadel Military College of South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

#3 in overall quality

$7,296 Average Net Price

$50,720 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Citadel Military College of South Carolina. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k list. The Citadel is a small public school situated in Charleston, South Carolina. It awarded 76 ’s general mechanical engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

The Citadel also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The Citadel is $7,296 for South Carolina General Mechanical Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Mechanical Engineering at The Citadel

#2

University of South Carolina - Columbia

Columbia, South Carolina

#2 in overall quality

$12,426 Average Net Price

$45,200 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of South Carolina - Columbia landed the #2 spot on the list. University of South Carolina - Columbia is a large school located in Columbia, South Carolina that handed out 219 ’s general mechanical engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UofSC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina” list. The estimated yearly cost for UofSC is $12,426 for south carolina general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about General Mechanical Engineering at University of South Carolina - Columbia

#3

Clemson University

Clemson, South Carolina

#1 in overall quality

$13,698 Average Net Price

$45,078 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Clemson University landed the #3 spot on the list. Clemson is a large school located in Clemson, South Carolina that handed out 294 ’s general mechanical engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our south carolina general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Clemson has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Clemson University is $13,698 for south carolina general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 3.1% 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 General Mechanical Engineering at Clemson

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

Featured Engineering Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >