2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in Iowa

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 ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 47,598 people earned their degree in mechanical engineering, making the major the 20th most popular in the United States. 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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 589 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer 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.

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

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 for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in Iowa

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$17,228 Average Net Price

$65,814 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 for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k. Iowa State is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 429 bachelors’s ME degrees to qualified students.

Iowa State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State University is $17,228 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $75-$110k.

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 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Iowa State Mechanical Engineering Report

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$20,738 Average Net Price

$64,687 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 120 students in 2019-2020.

Iowa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $20,738 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $75-$110k.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Iowa Mechanical Engineering Report

#3

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$26,237 Average Net Price

$61,020 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 for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k list. Sioux Center, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Dordt, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Dordt is $26,237 for iowa bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $75-$110k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 Mechanical Engineering at Dordt

#4

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$25,654 Average Net Price

$60,771 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Ambrose University landed the #4 spot on the list. Saint Ambrose University is located in Davenport, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 bachelors’s ME degrees to qualified students.

St. Ambrose University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend St. Ambrose University is $25,654 for iowa bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Saint Ambrose University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $75-$110k)

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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