2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in District of Columbia

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Engineering is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 6th of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 200,458 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,888 and had an average of $23,564 in loans still to pay off.

Across District of Columbia, there were 774 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,650 and $25,787 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 379 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $44,446 and $25,767 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent engineering programs, but they also cost less that 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 engineering program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in District of Columbia

#1

George Washington University

Washington, District of Columbia

#1 in overall quality

$17,614 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Washington University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $0-$30k. GWU is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Washington, District of Columbia. It awarded 170 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

GWU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” list. It costs about $17,614 for district of columbia bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend George Washington University.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering at GWU

#2

Catholic University of America

Washington, District of Columbia

#2 in overall quality

$25,675 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Catholic University of America landed the #2 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 106 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

CUA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” list. The estimated yearly cost for CUA is $25,675 for District of Columbia Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 Catholic University of America Engineering Report

#3

Howard University

Washington, District of Columbia

#3 in overall quality

$37,757 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Howard University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $0-$30k. Howard University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Washington, District of Columbia. It awarded 64 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Howard not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” list. It costs about $37,757 for district of columbia bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Howard.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Howard Engineering Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for 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 Petty Officer 3rd Class Declan Barnes.

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