2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $0-$30k)
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Engineering & Applied Physics is the 440th most popular major in the country with 941 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 652 engineering and applied physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 50 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in engineering and applied physics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality engineering and applied physics 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 engineering and applied physics program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $0-$30k)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. California Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Caltech also took the #3 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Caltech is $5,456 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Cornell University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Ithaca, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s applied physics degrees to 26 students in 2019-2020.
Cornell did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Cornell is $7,484 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at Cornell University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brown University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Providence, Rhode Island, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Brown did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Brown University is $201 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. Ann Arbor, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s applied physics degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, U-M has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend U-M is $3,166 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Dartmouth College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. Dartmouth College is a medium-sized school located in Hanover, New Hampshire that handed out 2 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Dartmouth not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Dartmouth is $12,052 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #6, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 77 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $5,477 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s applied physics degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.
UW - Madison did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $4,367 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison.
The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of California - Berkeley ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 11 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s applied physics students in 2019-2020.
UC Berkeley also took the #6 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Berkeley is $8,392 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Tufts University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Tufts University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Medford, Massachusetts. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Tufts not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Tufts is $5,267 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The 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.
Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #10. Ohio State is a large school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 22 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.
Ohio State also took the #18 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State is $8,194 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at Ohio State
Columbia University in the City of New York came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s applied physics degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.
Columbia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia is $8,916 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low student loan default rate of 2.1% 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%.
University of Wisconsin - Platteville landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Platteville, Wisconsin, this medium-sized public school handed out 30 degrees to qualified bachelors’s applied physics students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - Platteville, the school also landed the #19 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Platteville is $12,117 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at University of Wisconsin - Platteville
With a ranking of #13, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Edinburg, Texas, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend UT Rio Grande Valley is $2,993 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at UT Rio Grande Valley
University of Minnesota - Duluth came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Duluth, Minnesota, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $7,443 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UMN Duluth.
The low student loan default rate of 3.1% 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 Minnesota - Duluth Engineering & Applied Physics Report
With a ranking of #15, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend UCSD is $9,280 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at University of California - San Diego
Tulane University of Louisiana landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Tulane is located in New Orleans, Louisiana and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s applied physics degrees to qualified students.
Tulane did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $23,968 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Tulane University of Louisiana.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at Tulane University of Louisiana
Oakland University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Oakland University is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s applied physics degrees to qualified students.
It costs about $7,490 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Oakland University.
Full Oakland University Engineering & Applied Physics Report
Murray State University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Murray State is a public institution located in Murray, Kentucky. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Murray State University is $8,839 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Murray State University
University of Connecticut ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Storrs, Connecticut, this large public school handed out 15 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s applied physics students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCONN has also earned the #16 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCONN is $12,381 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at University of Connecticut
With a ranking of #20, Colorado School of Mines did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Golden, Colorado, and it awarded 51 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, Mines has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $17,276 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Mines.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Colorado School of Mines Engineering & Applied Physics Report
With a ranking of #21, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s applied physics students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $10,648 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Illinois at Chicago.
The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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 full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Colorado Boulder landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Boulder, Colorado is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s applied physics degrees to 27 students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $13,366 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Colorado Boulder.
The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Case Western Reserve University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Case Western is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Case Western not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $18,708 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Case Western.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 Engineering & Applied Physics at Case Western
New Mexico State University - Main Campus landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. NMSU Main Campus is a fairly large school located in Las Cruces, New Mexico that handed out 6 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $6,896 for bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend New Mexico State University - Main Campus.
Full New Mexico State University - Main Campus Engineering & Applied Physics Report
Lehigh University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Lehigh is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It awarded 1 bachelors’s applied physics degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree applied physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, Lehigh has also earned the #17 rank in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Lehigh University is $14,080 for Bachelor’s Degree Applied Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.
The 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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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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