2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in District of Columbia

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k” 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 District of Columbia, there were 188 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,500 and $26,035 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 128 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $44,446 and $25,767 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great mechanical 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 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.

More Ways to Rank Mechanical 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 ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in District of Columbia

#1

George Washington University

Washington, District of Columbia

#1 in overall quality

$17,924 Average Net Price

$61,064 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Washington University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 53 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

GWU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” list. It costs about $17,924 for district of columbia bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend GWU.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at GWU

#2

Catholic University of America

Washington, District of Columbia

#2 in overall quality

$26,211 Average Net Price

$63,749 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Catholic University of America. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k list. CUA is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Washington, District of Columbia. It awarded 39 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

CUA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” list. The yearly cost to attend Catholic University of America is $26,211 for district of columbia bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 Mechanical Engineering at Catholic University of America

#3

Howard University

Washington, District of Columbia

#3 in overall quality

$39,858 Average Net Price

$38,289 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Howard University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in District of Columbia For Those Making $30-$48k list. This fairly large school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Howard did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in District of Columbia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Howard University is $39,858 for District of Columbia Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.

Full Howard University Mechanical Engineering Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical 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 Michel Villeneuve.

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