2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Southwest Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Engineering Schools for an Associate in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

General Engineering is the 78th most popular major in the country with 11,925 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $66,152 and had an average of $20,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southwest region, there were 1,775 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,200 and $19,581 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 720 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,605 and $16,886 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for an Associate in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general engineering 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 general engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. 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 Engineering Schools for an Associate in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Engineering Schools for an Associate in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region associate degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Southwest Region

#1

Tulsa Community College

Tulsa, Oklahoma

#1 in overall quality

$4,835 Average Net Price

$51,106 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Tulsa Community College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for an Associate in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this fairly large public school handed out 85 degrees to qualified associates’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region associate degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Tulsa Community College has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Engineering Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Tulsa Community College is $4,835 for southwest region associate degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Tulsa Community College General Engineering Report

#2

Austin Community College District

Austin, Texas

#2 in overall quality

$3,134 Average Net Price

$36,134 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for an Associate in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Austin Community College District landed the #2 spot on the list. Austin Community College District is a public institution located in Austin, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 81 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region associate degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Austin Community College District has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Engineering Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Austin Community College District is $3,134 for southwest region associate degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Austin Community College District General Engineering Report

#3

Central New Mexico Community College

Albuquerque, New Mexico

#3 in overall quality

$2,604 Average Net Price

$35,954 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central New Mexico Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for an Associate in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Albuquerque, New Mexico is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s engineering degrees to 43 students in 2019-2020.

CNM also made our “Best General Engineering Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $2,604 for Southwest Region Associate Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend CNM.

Read full report on General Engineering at Central New Mexico Community College

#4

Northwest Vista College

San Antonio, Texas

#4 in overall quality

$4,355 Average Net Price

$28,960 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for an Associate in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwest Vista College landed the #4 spot on the list. Northwest Vista College is a public institution located in San Antonio, Texas. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 14 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwest Vista College also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Engineering Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $4,355 for Southwest Region Associate Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northwest Vista College.

Read full report on General Engineering at Northwest Vista College

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k)

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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