Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Mechanical Engineering

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in Pennsylvania (With Aid)

15 Ranked Colleges
1,251 Degrees Awarded
$29,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor's in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid” ranking.

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 Pennsylvania, there were 1,713 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $65,600 and $26,332 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,251 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 15 colleges that offer 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. 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 for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid”.

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. 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 Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid.

Top 15 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in Pennsylvania (With Aid)

#1

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Out of the 15 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pennsylvania landed the #1 spot on the list. UPenn is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 60 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UPenn also took the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UPenn is $25,802 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at University of Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid. University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is a large school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that handed out 181 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid list, Pitt has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is $27,938 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Pitt

#3

York College of Pennsylvania

York, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend York College of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid. York College of Pennsylvania is located in York, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 39 bachelors’s ME degrees to qualified students.

YCP also took the #9 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for York College of Pennsylvania is $20,652 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree ME students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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%.

Full YCP Mechanical Engineering Report

#4

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Out of the 15 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Lehigh University landed the #4 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 101 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Lehigh, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Lehigh is $29,301 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Lehigh University

#5

Lafayette College

Easton, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Lafayette College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid. Lafayette College is a small school located in Easton, Pennsylvania that handed out 57 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Lafayette also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Lafayette College is $32,551 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Lafayette College Mechanical Engineering Report

#6

Temple University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Temple University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 138 students in 2019-2020.

Temple not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for Temple University is $23,521 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree ME students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Full Temple University Mechanical Engineering Report

#7

Gannon University

Erie, Pennsylvania

Gannon University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid ranking. Gannon University is a small school located in Erie, Pennsylvania that handed out 26 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Gannon did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend Gannon is $21,431 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Gannon

#8

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
#15 in overall quality

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid ranking. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

Ship also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #15. The yearly cost to attend Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania is $22,054 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

#9

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Carnegie Mellon University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid list. This fairly large school is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 130 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Carnegie Mellon, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Carnegie Mellon is $34,508 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon

#10

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Thomas Jefferson University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 14 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s ME students in 2019-2020.

Thomas Jefferson University also took the #12 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Thomas Jefferson University is $25,162 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Thomas Jefferson University Mechanical Engineering Report

#11

Wilkes University

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid ranking. This small school is located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 51 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Wilkes also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $26,641 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree ME students with aid per year to attend Wilkes University.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Wilkes University

#12

Villanova University

Villanova, Pennsylvania

Villanova University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #12. Located in Villanova, Pennsylvania, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 70 degrees to qualified bachelors’s ME students in 2019-2020.

Villanova did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $41,027 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid per year to attend Villanova University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Villanova

#13

Bucknell University

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Bucknell University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid list. Bucknell is a small school located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania that handed out 41 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Bucknell did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $42,502 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid per year to attend Bucknell.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Bucknell University

#14

Widener University

Chester, Pennsylvania

With a ranking of #14, Widener University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid list. Widener University is a medium-sized school located in Chester, Pennsylvania that handed out 38 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid list, Widener has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $31,345 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree ME students with aid per year to attend Widener.

The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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 Widener University

#15

Drexel University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

With a ranking of #15, Drexel University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid list. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 189 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree me students with aid list, Drexel has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Drexel University is $34,914 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree ME students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Drexel

Switch to a Similar 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

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

Featured Engineering Schools

Find Schools Near You