2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s
7
Ranked Colleges
305
Degrees Awarded
$58,911
Avg Salary
With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.
General Engineering is the 79th most popular major in the country with 11,796 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 305 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,741 and $27,572 respectively.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s” ranking looked at 7 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 a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the general engineering program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s
The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree vets studying engineering.
Top 7 Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Pennsylvania
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Carnegie Mellon University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s list. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that handed out 22 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Carnegie Mellon not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list.Among the 13,519 students enrolled at Carnegie Mellon, 117 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 72 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $18,422. To help with additional expenses, 36 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 Carnegie Mellon Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Messiah University landed the #2 spot on the list. Messiah University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 55 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree vets studying engineering list, Messiah has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 72 of the 3,370 students enrolled at Messiah were GI Bill® students, of which 45 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $15,642. To help with additional expenses, 20 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Messiah]](/colleges/messiah-college/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Temple University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s list. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.
Temple also took the #5 spot in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking.Of the 37,236 students enrolled at Temple, 830 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 510 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,479. During this same period, 9 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Temple University Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Geneva College. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s. Geneva College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 50 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Geneva also made our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #4.Of the 1,349 students enrolled at Geneva, 28 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 20 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $13,931. On top of their other funding sources, 6 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Elizabethtown College landed the #5 spot on the list. Etown is a private not-for-profit institution located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Etown not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list.Among the 1,881 students enrolled at Etown, 34 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 21 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,456. During this same period, 4 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Full Etown Veteran Student Life Report
Lafayette College did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #6. Lafayette College is located in Easton, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 19 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.
Lafayette also made our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #3.Our most recent data shows that 14 of the 2,514 students enrolled at Lafayette College were GI Bill® students, of which 6 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $21,418. On top of their other funding sources, 3 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. 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. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Lafayette Veteran Student Life Report
Swarthmore College ranked #7 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for Engineering for a Bachelor’s list. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 23 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Swarthmore, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking.Among the 1,437 students enrolled at Swarthmore College, 7 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 4 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $17,173. In addition to receiving other benefits, 2 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 full report on veteran student life at Swarthmore College]](/colleges/swarthmore-college/student-life/veterans/)
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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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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.