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2022 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Tennessee

8 Ranked Colleges
672 Degrees Awarded
$12,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students 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 “Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Tennessee, there were 672 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $63,100 and $21,044 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for tennessee me students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Tennessee

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Vanderbilt University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k. Nashville, Tennessee is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s ME degrees to 67 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Vanderbilt, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Vanderbilt is $6,017 for tennessee me students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #2 spot on the list. Knoxville, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 225 students in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $13,745 for Tennessee ME students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UT Knoxville.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and it awarded 70 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Chattanooga also took the #4 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UT Chattanooga is $10,515 for Tennessee ME students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

#4

Christian Brothers University

Memphis, Tennessee

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Christian Brothers University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k. Christian Brothers University is located in Memphis, Tennessee and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 24 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.

Christian Brothers not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $12,165 for Tennessee ME students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Christian Brothers University.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Christian Brothers University

#5

Tennessee Technological University

Cookeville, Tennessee

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Tennessee Technological University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. This fairly large school is located in Cookeville, Tennessee, and it awarded 172 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Tennessee Tech University also took the #3 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $13,421 for Tennessee ME students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Tennessee Tech University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Tennessee Tech University

#6

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

With a ranking of #6, University of Memphis did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. UofM is a large school located in Memphis, Tennessee that handed out 50 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UofM, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UofM is $12,264 for tennessee me students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at University of Memphis

#7

Tennessee State University

Nashville, Tennessee

With a ranking of #7, Tennessee State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. Tennessee State University is a public institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 19 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Tennessee State University, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Tennessee State University is $11,711 for tennessee me students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Tennessee State University

#8

Lipscomb University

Nashville, Tennessee

With a ranking of #8, Lipscomb University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. Nashville, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s ME degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Lipscomb, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Lipscomb is $20,503 for tennessee me students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 low student loan default rate of 3.9% 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 Lipscomb Mechanical Engineering Report

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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).
  • 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.

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