2023 Best Value Colleges for General Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Pennsylvania
8
Ranked Colleges
493
Degrees Awarded
$16,300
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 was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 11,796 people earned their degree in general engineering, making the major the 79th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, general engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $68,873 and had an average of $20,557 in loans still to pay off.
Across Pennsylvania, there were 493 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,911 and $24,603 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree 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.
More Ways to Rank General Engineering Schools
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 in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k
The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for General Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Pennsylvania
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Carnegie Mellon University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k list. Carnegie Mellon is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 35 ’s engineering degrees to qualified students.
Carnegie Mellon did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for Carnegie Mellon University is $13,608 for pennsylvania engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 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%.
Full Carnegie Mellon University General Engineering Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Swarthmore College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k. Swarthmore College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. It awarded 23 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Swarthmore, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $4,012 for pennsylvania engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Swarthmore College.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on General Engineering at Swarthmore College
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Lafayette College landed the #3 spot on the list. Easton, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s engineering degrees to 19 students in 2020-2021.
Lafayette not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend Lafayette College is $12,400 for Pennsylvania Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about General Engineering at Lafayette College
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Villanova University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k. Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It awarded 18 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Villanova also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Villanova University is $26,460 for pennsylvania engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Engineering at Villanova
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Geneva College landed the #5 spot on the list. Geneva is located in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 50 ’s engineering degrees to qualified students.
Geneva also made our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $17,135 for pennsylvania engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Geneva.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Geneva College General Engineering Report
Temple University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Temple is a large school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 8 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Temple not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend Temple University is $19,355 for Pennsylvania Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, 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 87%.
Read more about General Engineering at Temple
Messiah University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Messiah University is a small school located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania that handed out 55 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Messiah did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for Messiah University is $19,670 for Pennsylvania Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, 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 86%.
Read more about General Engineering at Messiah
With a ranking of #8, Elizabethtown College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k list. Etown is a small school located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania that handed out 38 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Etown also made our “Best General Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for Etown is $17,622 for Pennsylvania Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, 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 undergraduate students.
Read full report on General Engineering at Etown
Focus on a Specific Degree Level
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Similar Major
Switch to a More Focused Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Rémi Kaupp.
