2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Agriculture & Agriculture Operations in South Dakota

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 Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Schools for an Associate in South Dakota” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Agriculture & Agriculture Operations is the 23rd most popular major in the country with 51,300 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, agriculture and agriculture operations graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $34,886 and had an average of $19,085 in loans still to pay off.

Across South Dakota, there were 584 agriculture and agriculture operations graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 220 agriculture and agriculture operations graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Schools for an Associate in South Dakota” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in agriculture and agriculture operations. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great agriculture and agriculture operations programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the agriculture and agriculture operations program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Schools for an Associate in South Dakota” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Schools for an Associate in South Dakota

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Schools for an Associate in South Dakota.

Top 4 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Agriculture & Agriculture Operations in South Dakota

#1

Lake Area Technical Institute

Watertown, South Dakota

#1 in overall quality

$12,939 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lake Area Technical Institute. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Schools for an Associate in South Dakota list. LATI is located in Watertown, South Dakota and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 120 associates’s agriculture and agriculture operations degrees to qualified students.

LATI also made our “Best Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend LATI is $12,939 for South Dakota Associate Degree Agriculture & Agriculture Operations students.

Read full report on Agriculture & Agriculture Operations at Lake Area Technical Institute

#2

Mitchell Technical College

Mitchell, South Dakota

#2 in overall quality

$12,472 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Schools for an Associate in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Mitchell Technical College landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Mitchell, South Dakota, and it awarded 46 associates’s agriculture and agriculture operations degrees in 2019-2020.

Mitchell Tech also made our “Best Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Mitchell Technical College is $12,472 for south dakota associate degree agriculture & agriculture operations students.

Read full report on Agriculture & Agriculture Operations at Mitchell Technical College

#3

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota

#3 in overall quality

$19,252 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Schools for an Associate in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Brookings, South Dakota, this fairly large public school awarded 20 degrees to qualified associates’s agriculture and agriculture operations students in 2019-2020.

South Dakota State also took the #3 spot in our “Best Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking. It costs about $19,252 for South Dakota Associate Degree Agriculture & Agriculture Operations students per year to attend South Dakota State University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.8% 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 South Dakota State University Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Report

#4

Southeast Technical College

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

#4 in overall quality

$14,633 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Schools for an Associate in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Southeast Technical College landed the #4 spot on the list. Southeast Technical College is a small public school situated in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It awarded 26 associates’s agriculture and agriculture operations degrees in 2019-2020.

Southeast Tech also made our “Best Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $14,633 for South Dakota Associate Degree Agriculture & Agriculture Operations students per year to attend Southeast Technical College.

Full Southeast Tech Agriculture & Agriculture Operations Report

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Agriculture & Agriculture Operations in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Agriculture & Agriculture Operations

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 W.carter.

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