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

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 11,925 people earned their degree in general engineering, making the major the 78th most popular in the United States. 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 North Carolina, there were 639 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $59,600 and $21,586 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 261 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,192 and $24,368 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in general engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general engineering 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 general engineering program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank General Engineering Schools

The engineering school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in North Carolina

#1

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, North Carolina

#1 in overall quality

$7,285 Average Net Price

$61,888 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, North Carolina State University landed the #1 spot on the list. NC State is a large school located in Raleigh, North Carolina that handed out 49 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our north carolina bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, NC State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NC State is $7,285 for north carolina bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, 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.

Read full report on General Engineering at North Carolina State University

#2

University of North Carolina at Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina

#3 in overall quality

$8,063 Average Net Price

$61,888 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Asheville landed the #2 spot on the list. UNCA is located in Asheville, North Carolina and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 38 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our north carolina bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, UNCA has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” ranking. It costs about $8,063 for north carolina bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UNCA.

Read more about General Engineering at University of North Carolina at Asheville

#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, North Carolina

#2 in overall quality

$11,026 Average Net Price

$61,609 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Carolina University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k list. ECU is located in Greenville, North Carolina and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 134 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

ECU also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” ranking. It costs about $11,026 for north carolina bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend East Carolina University.

Read more about General Engineering at East Carolina University

#4

Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, North Carolina

#4 in overall quality

$9,188 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in North Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Carolina University landed the #4 spot on the list. WCU is a fairly large public school situated in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It awarded 34 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

WCU also made our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend Western Carolina University is $9,188 for North Carolina Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Engineering at Western Carolina University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s 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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