2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering in Virginia (With Aid)

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 Virginia, there were 756 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,667 and $15,177 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 124 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 3 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Virginia For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering in Virginia (With Aid)

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, Virginia

#2 in overall quality

$22,169 Average Net Price

$59,011 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, James Madison University landed the #1 spot on the list. James Madison University is a large public school situated in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It awarded 78 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

JMU also made our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $22,169 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students with aid per year to attend JMU.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 General Engineering at JMU

#2

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$20,397 Average Net Price

$55,286 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. Charlottesville, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree engineering students with aid list, University of Virginia has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $20,397 for virginia bachelor’s degree engineering students with aid per year to attend University of Virginia.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 Virginia General Engineering Report

#3

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, Virginia

#3 in overall quality

$16,493 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Old Dominion University landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Norfolk, Virginia, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Old Dominion also made our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $16,493 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students with aid per year to attend Old Dominion.

Read more about General Engineering at Old Dominion University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering in the Southeast Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (With Aid)

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.

Featured Engineering Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >