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2024 Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

54 Colleges
750,590 Bachelor's Degrees
$24,551 Avg Cost*

Finding the Best Value Mechanical Engineering School for You

Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in the Great Lakes RegionMechanical Engineering is the #17 most popular major in the country with 5,415,716 bachelor's degrees awarded in 2021-2022. Of those degrees, 750,590 went to students in the Great Lakes region of the United States.

For this year's Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in the Great Lakes Region ranking, we looked at 54 colleges that offer a bachelor's in me. Note that the phrase 'best value' does not mean the absolute lowest-priced. We are more focused on me schools that offer a high quality education at a price lower that other schools of similar academic excellence.

Average cost figures start with estimating tuition, fees, room and board, books, and other related expenses. We then subtract the average amount of financial aid that a student receives. You can use this as a gauge to estimate how much you may need to pay out of pocket to cover costs when financial aid isn't enough. Keep in mind that the net cost for you may be higher or lower, depending on your income and other factors.

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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 ME Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

2024 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges for the Money.

Top 10 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools

1

Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #1 spot in our 2024 rankings for best value mechanical engineering schools. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a fairly large student population. As a testament to the quality of education offered at Purdue, the school also landed the #3 rank in our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

It takes about 4.3 years for the average student at Purdue to complete their degree, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $28,080. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Purdue is $121,867. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.

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2

University of Wisconsin - Platteville comes in at #2 in this year's ranking. Located in the distant town of Platteville, UW - Platteville is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

At UW - Platteville, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.7 years, and the average full-time cost to attend the school is around $20,526. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from UW - Platteville is about $97,293. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Platteville

3

University of Wisconsin - Stout earned the #3 spot in our 2024 rankings. UW - Stout is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Menomonie.

It takes the average student at UW - Stout about 4.6 years to graduate, and it costs about $21,682 per year to attend the school. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from UW - Stout be around $99,954. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Stout

4

The #4 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Western Michigan University. WMU is a large public school located in the small city of Kalamazoo.

The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at WMU is 4.6 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $19,851. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from WMU is $92,109. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Western Michigan University Report

5

University of Akron Main Campus earned the #5 spot in our 2024 rankings. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a large student population.

It takes the average student at University of Akron Main Campus about 4.6 years to graduate, and it costs about $24,514 per year to attend the school. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from University of Akron Main Campus is $113,010. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of Akron Main Campus Report

6

Our rankings recognize Northern Illinois University as the #6 school in this year's rankings. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

At NIU, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.6 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $20,624. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from NIU is $94,870. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.

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7

Southern Illinois University Carbondale comes in at #7 in this year's ranking. SIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

It takes the average student at SIUC about 4.4 years to graduate, and it costs about $18,799 per year to attend the school. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from SIUC be around $82,716. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

8

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #8 spot in our 2024 rankings for best value mechanical engineering schools. SIUE is a large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

It takes the average student at SIUE about 4.5 years to graduate, and it costs about $17,186 per year to attend the school. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from SIUE is about $77,509. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

9

Youngstown State University landed the #9 spot in our 2024 rankings for best value mechanical engineering schools. Located in the small city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Youngstown State University is 4.7 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $16,443. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University is about $77,282. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Youngstown State University Report

10
Oakland crest
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, MI

Oakland University earned the #10 spot in our 2024 rankings. Located in the large suburb of Rochester Hills, Oakland is a public school with a large student population.

At Oakland, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.6 years, and it costs about $28,172 per year to attend the school. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the Oakland is $129,873. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Oakland University

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best mechanical engineering colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

StateDegrees Awarded
Michigan1,905
Ohio1,701
Illinois837
Indiana1,054
Wisconsin759

Mechanical Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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