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2022 Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

6 Ranked Colleges
2,696 Degrees Awarded
$17,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

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 Iowa, there were 2,696 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $65,852 and $23,960 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 6 colleges that offer a degree in engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality 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 engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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 in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 6 Best Value Colleges for Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa
#1 in overall quality
$10,054 Average Net Price
$46,410 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Iowa State is a large school located in Ames, Iowa that handed out 1,972 ’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also made our “Best Engineering Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $10,054 for iowa engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Iowa State University.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Read more about Engineering at Iowa State

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
#3 in overall quality
$12,975 Average Net Price
$44,594 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Iowa is a large school located in Iowa City, Iowa that handed out 608 ’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also took the #3 spot in our “Best Engineering Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $12,975 for Iowa Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Iowa.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of Iowa Engineering Report

#3

Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa
#2 in overall quality
$16,154 Average Net Price
$37,900 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loras College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. Loras College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Dubuque, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Loras also took the #2 spot in our “Best Engineering Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $16,154 for iowa engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Loras College.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering at Loras

#4

Wartburg College

Waverly, Iowa
#6 in overall quality
$16,334 Average Net Price
$37,829 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Wartburg College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. This small school is located in Waverly, Iowa, and it awarded 9 ’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Wartburg has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Engineering Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Wartburg is $16,334 for iowa engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering at Wartburg

#5

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa
#5 in overall quality
$24,967 Average Net Price
$48,233 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Dordt University landed the #5 spot on the list. Sioux Center, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s engineering degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

Dordt also made our “Best Engineering Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for Dordt University is $24,967 for Iowa Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Dordt University Engineering Report

#6

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa
#4 in overall quality
$23,977 Average Net Price
$45,438 Average Early-Career Earnings

With a ranking of #6, Saint Ambrose University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Davenport, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s engineering degrees to 49 students in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University also made our “Best Engineering Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $23,977 for iowa engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Saint Ambrose University.

Read more about Engineering at Saint Ambrose University

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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

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.

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