13
Ranked Colleges
751
Degrees Awarded
$11,800
Avg Net Price*
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-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Engineering-Related Fields is the 112th most popular major in the country with 6,736 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, engineering-related fields graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $77,404 and had an average of $26,200 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Plains States region, there were 751 engineering-related fields graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,566 and $29,473 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in engineering-related fields. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great engineering-related fields programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the engineering-related fields program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college 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.
The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Iowa State University is a large school located in Ames, Iowa that handed out 118 ’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2020-2021.
Iowa State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State is $9,766 for plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Iowa State University Engineering-Related Fields Report
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Missouri University of Science and Technology landed the #2 spot on the list. Missouri University of Science and Technology is located in Rolla, Missouri and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 284 ’s engineering-related fields degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Missouri University of Science and Technology, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Missouri University of Science and Technology is $7,356 for Plains States Region Engineering-Related Fields students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Engineering-Related Fields at Missouri University of Science and Technology
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Cloud State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Saint Cloud State University is a public institution located in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 48 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at St. Cloud State University, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $10,348 for plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Saint Cloud State University.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Saint Cloud State University Engineering-Related Fields Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Missouri State University - Springfield. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Missouri State University - Springfield is a large public school situated in Springfield, Missouri. It awarded 85 ’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k list, Missouri State has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $12,381 for plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Missouri State.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Engineering-Related Fields at Missouri State
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Pittsburg State University landed the #5 spot on the list. Pittsburg State University is a medium-sized school located in Pittsburg, Kansas that handed out 13 ’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k list, Pitt State has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $11,469 for plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Pitt State.
Read more about Engineering-Related Fields at Pittsburg State University
With a ranking of #6, Southeast Missouri State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Southeast Missouri State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It awarded 26 ’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2020-2021.
Southeast Missouri State University also made our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #11. The estimated yearly cost for Southeast Missouri State University is $10,359 for plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k.
Full Southeast Missouri State University Engineering-Related Fields Report
University of Kansas ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Lawrence, Kansas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s engineering-related fields degrees to 24 students in 2020-2021.
KU also took the #5 spot in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend KU is $15,666 for Plains States Region Engineering-Related Fields 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 undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%.
Full University of Kansas Engineering-Related Fields Report
South Dakota State University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Brookings, South Dakota, this fairly large public school handed out 15 diplomas to qualified ’s engineering-related fields students in 2020-2021.
South Dakota State also made our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $14,171 for plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend South Dakota State.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Engineering-Related Fields at South Dakota State University
With a ranking of #9, Grantham University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Lenexa, Kansas, and it awarded 43 ’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k list, Grantham University has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Grantham University is $8,843 for Plains States Region Engineering-Related Fields students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Engineering-Related Fields at Grantham University
Wichita State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. WSU is a public institution located in Wichita, Kansas. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at WSU, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Wichita State University is $11,687 for Plains States Region Engineering-Related Fields students whose families make $0-$30k.
Full Wichita State University Engineering-Related Fields Report
Kansas State University landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. K -State is a large school located in Manhattan, Kansas that handed out 5 ’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2020-2021.
K -State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for K -State is $13,436 for plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Engineering-Related Fields at Kansas State University
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is a small school located in Rapid City, South Dakota that handed out 15 ’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k list, SD Mines has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $16,705 for plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Engineering-Related Fields Report
Washburn University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Washburn University is a medium-sized school located in Topeka, Kansas that handed out 10 ’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2020-2021.
Washburn University also made our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #13. The estimated yearly cost for Washburn University is $11,258 for plains states region engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Engineering-Related Fields at Washburn 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
- *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.
