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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in California

6 Ranked Colleges
244 Degrees Awarded
$13,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 9,411 people earned their degree in general engineering, making the major the 83rd most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 491 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 244 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 6 colleges that offered a degree in general engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” 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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 6 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the #1 spot on the list. California Institute of Technology is located in Pasadena, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

Caltech also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Caltech is $5,456 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full Caltech General Engineering Report

#2

Harvey Mudd College

Claremont, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Harvey Mudd College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Harvey Mudd College is a small school located in Claremont, California that handed out 68 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Harvey Mudd College has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $16,494 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Harvey Mudd College.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Harvey Mudd College General Engineering Report

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. UC Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 129 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Davis has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $9,842 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UC Davis.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Engineering at UC Davis

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. CSULB is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 18 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CSULB is $6,364 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on General Engineering at California State University - Long Beach

#5

University of San Diego

San Diego, California
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of San Diego. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in San Diego, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 9 degrees to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, USD has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend USD is $22,263 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Engineering at USD

#6

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, California
#4 in overall quality

Santa Clara University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Santa Clara, California, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

SCU also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $22,356 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend SCU.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about General Engineering at SCU

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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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Rémi Kaupp.

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