2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Materials Engineering is the 150th most popular major in the country with 3,485 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, materials engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $63,129 and had an average of $23,918 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 154 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,767 and $25,422 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 123 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,786 and $25,576 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in materials engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great materials engineering programs and cost less that 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 materials engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Materials 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 Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region 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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region

#1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$8,418 Average Net Price

$61,218 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 50 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UMN Twin Cities did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $8,418 for plains states region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 Materials Engineering at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

#2

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$10,843 Average Net Price

$67,101 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 55 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also made our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State University is $10,843 for plains states region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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 full report on Materials Engineering at Iowa State University

#3

Winona State University

Winona, Minnesota

#3 in overall quality

$13,606 Average Net Price

$66,401 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Winona State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Winona State University is a public institution located in Winona, Minnesota. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 18 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Winona State, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Winona State is $13,606 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Winona State University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $30-$48k)

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 Panoramedia.

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