2022 Best Value ME Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value ME Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 47,598 people earned their degree in mechanical engineering, making the major the 20th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,495 and had an average of $23,104 in loans still to pay off.

Across South Carolina, there were 589 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $64,350 and $22,875 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent mechanical engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value ME Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

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 ME Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for south carolina me students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in South Carolina

#1

Citadel Military College of South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

#3 in overall quality

$7,296 Average Net Price

$50,720 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Citadel Military College of South Carolina landed the #1 spot on the list. The Citadel is a small school located in Charleston, South Carolina that handed out 76 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

The Citadel did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina” list. The yearly cost to attend The Citadel is $7,296 for south carolina me students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Citadel Military College of South Carolina

#2

University of South Carolina - Columbia

Columbia, South Carolina

#2 in overall quality

$12,426 Average Net Price

$45,200 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Carolina - Columbia. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of South Carolina - Columbia is a large school located in Columbia, South Carolina that handed out 219 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UofSC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina” list. The yearly cost to attend University of South Carolina - Columbia is $12,426 for South Carolina ME students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 90%, 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 more about Mechanical Engineering at University of South Carolina - Columbia

#3

Clemson University

Clemson, South Carolina

#1 in overall quality

$13,698 Average Net Price

$45,078 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in South Carolina For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Clemson University landed the #3 spot on the list. Clemson is a large school located in Clemson, South Carolina that handed out 294 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Clemson also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Carolina” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $13,698 for south carolina me students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Clemson University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.1% 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 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University

• Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Colleges for Mechanical 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 Michel Villeneuve.

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