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

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” 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.

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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Schools

The me 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 ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k.

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

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$17,228 Average Net Price

$46,410 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Ames, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 429 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa me students whose families make $75-$110k list, Iowa State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State University is $17,228 for Iowa ME students whose families make $75-$110k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$20,738 Average Net Price

$44,594 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value ME Schools 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 is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 138 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for University of Iowa is $20,738 for iowa 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.

Full University of Iowa Mechanical Engineering Report

#3

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$26,237 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 $75-$110k list. Dordt is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Sioux Center, Iowa. It awarded 12 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Dordt also took the #3 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Dordt University is $26,237 for Iowa ME students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Dordt University

#4

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$25,654 Average Net Price

$45,438 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Ambrose University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k list. Davenport, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s ME degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend Saint Ambrose University is $25,654 for Iowa ME students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full St. Ambrose University Mechanical Engineering Report

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