2023 Best Value Colleges for Polymer & Plastics Engineering (Income $0-$30k)
8
Ranked Colleges
360
Degrees Awarded
$12,800
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 360 people earned their degree in polymer and plastics engineering, making the major the 293rd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, polymer and plastics engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $62,838 and had an average of $26,051 in loans still to pay off.
For this year’s “Best Value Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in polymer and plastics engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent polymer and plastics engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the polymer and plastics 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.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The polymer engineering 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 Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Value Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for polymer engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Polymer & Plastics Engineering (Income $0-$30k)
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Tech landed the #1 spot on the list. Blacksburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s polymer engineering degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our polymer engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Virginia Tech has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Polymer & Plastics Engineering Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Virginia Tech is $11,934 for Polymer Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad 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%.
Read more about Polymer & Plastics Engineering at Virginia Tech
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lehigh University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s polymer engineering degrees to 19 students in 2020-2021.
Lehigh did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Polymer & Plastics Engineering Schools” list. It costs about $15,561 for polymer engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Lehigh.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 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 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Lehigh Polymer & Plastics Engineering Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Massachusetts - Lowell landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Lowell, Massachusetts, this fairly large public school handed out 117 degrees to qualified ’s polymer engineering students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our polymer engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, UMass Lowell has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Polymer & Plastics Engineering Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Massachusetts - Lowell is $12,497 for Polymer Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Polymer & Plastics Engineering at UMass Lowell
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Case Western Reserve University landed the #4 spot on the list. Case Western is located in Cleveland, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 37 ’s polymer engineering degrees to qualified students.
Case Western also took the #1 spot in our “Best Polymer & Plastics Engineering Schools” ranking. It costs about $16,063 for polymer engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Case Western Reserve University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Polymer & Plastics Engineering at Case Western Reserve University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Stout. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. UW - Stout is located in Menomonie, Wisconsin and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 ’s polymer engineering degrees to qualified students.
UW - Stout not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Polymer & Plastics Engineering Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend UW - Stout is $10,074 for Polymer Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Polymer & Plastics Engineering at UW - Stout
With a ranking of #6, University of Massachusetts Amherst did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Amherst, Massachusetts, this large public school awarded 22 degrees to qualified ’s polymer engineering students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMass Amherst, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Polymer & Plastics Engineering Schools” ranking. It costs about $12,033 for polymer engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, 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 89%.
Full UMass Amherst Polymer & Plastics Engineering Report
Western Washington University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. This fairly large school is located in Bellingham, Washington, and it awarded 26 ’s polymer engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
WWU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Polymer & Plastics Engineering Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend WWU is $9,979 for Polymer Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Polymer & Plastics Engineering at WWU
University of Akron Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Polymer Engineering Schools For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. University of Akron Main Campus is a fairly large school located in Akron, Ohio that handed out 22 ’s polymer engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Akron Main Campus did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Polymer & Plastics Engineering Schools” list. It costs about $14,420 for polymer engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Akron Main Campus.
Full University of Akron Main Campus Polymer & Plastics Engineering Report
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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
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Cjp24.
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