2022 Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Mechanical Engineering is the 20th most popular major in the country with 47,598 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,495 and had an average of $23,104 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 607 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $64,575 and $24,231 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in mechanical engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality 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 mechanical engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$10,054 Average Net Price

$46,410 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. Iowa State University is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 429 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.

Iowa State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State is $10,054 for Iowa ME students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$12,975 Average Net Price

$44,594 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 138 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa is $12,975 for iowa me students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at University of Iowa

#3

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$24,967 Average Net Price

$48,233 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dordt University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 12 degrees to qualified ’s ME students in 2019-2020.

Dordt also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Dordt University is $24,967 for iowa me students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Dordt University

#4

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$23,977 Average Net Price

$45,438 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Ambrose University landed the #4 spot on the list. Saint Ambrose University is a small school located in Davenport, Iowa that handed out 25 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for St. Ambrose University is $23,977 for iowa me students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Saint Ambrose University

• Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Colleges for 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.

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