2023 Best Value Systems Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Systems Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 3,904 people earned their degree in systems engineering, making the major the 160th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, systems engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $89,736 and had an average of $21,799 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 537 systems engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $125,714 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Systems Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in systems engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality systems engineering programs that also have a lower cost than 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 systems engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The systems 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 Systems Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k”.

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 Systems Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california systems engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Systems Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in California

1

University of California - San Diego
La Jolla, California

#2 in overall quality

$14,310 Average Net Price

$50,251 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Systems Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #1 spot on the list. UCSD is a large public school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 36 ’s systems engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Systems Engineering Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,310 for California Systems Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of California - San Diego.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Systems Engineering at UCSD

2

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$22,826 Average Net Price

$65,044 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Systems Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 28 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

USC also made our “Best Systems Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $22,826 for california systems engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend USC.

The undergraduate 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. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of Southern California Systems Engineering Report

3

Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California

#3 in overall quality

$37,292 Average Net Price

$48,301 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loyola Marymount University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Systems Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k. Loyola Marymount is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 ’s systems engineering degrees to qualified students.

Loyola Marymount also took the #3 spot in our “Best Systems Engineering Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $37,292 for california systems engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Loyola Marymount University.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 more about Systems Engineering at Loyola Marymount

• Best Value Colleges for Systems Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Colleges for Systems Engineering (Income $48-$75k)

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 luis gomes.