2023 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in North Carolina
4
Ranked Colleges
918
Degrees Awarded
$7,100
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value ME Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 46,178 people earned their degree in mechanical engineering, making the major the 21st most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $69,007 and had an average of $23,944 in loans still to pay off.
Across North Carolina, there were 918 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,367 and $22,857 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value ME Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in mechanical engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great mechanical engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the mechanical 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 Mechanical Engineering Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value ME Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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. 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 ME Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value ME Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in North Carolina
Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Duke University landed the #1 spot on the list. Duke University is a fairly large school located in Durham, North Carolina that handed out 141 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our north carolina me students whose families make $0-$30k list, Duke has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Duke is $371 for North Carolina ME students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full Duke Mechanical Engineering Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend North Carolina State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value ME Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k list. North Carolina State University is a large public school situated in Raleigh, North Carolina. It awarded 402 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
NC State also took the #2 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in North Carolina” ranking. It costs about $7,283 for north carolina me students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend North Carolina State University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at NC State
Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, North Carolina A & T State University landed the #3 spot on the list. North Carolina A & T State University is a fairly large public school situated in Greensboro, North Carolina. It awarded 106 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
NC A&T also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for NC A&T is $7,827 for North Carolina ME students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at NC A&T
Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Charlotte landed the #4 spot on the list. University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a large public school situated in Charlotte, North Carolina. It awarded 249 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our north carolina me students whose families make $0-$30k list, UNC Charlotte has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Carolina at Charlotte is $12,751 for North Carolina ME students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%.
Full UNC Charlotte Mechanical Engineering Report
Focus on a Specific Degree Level
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Similar Major
Switch to a More Focused Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
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
- *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
college factual
