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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in Virginia

7 Ranked Colleges
885 Degrees Awarded
Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor's in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Mechanical Engineering is the 20th most popular major in the country with 47,598 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Virginia, there were 966 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,133 and $23,771 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 885 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in mechanical engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality mechanical engineering programs that also have a lower cost than 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 mechanical engineering program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Schools

The me school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k”.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in Virginia

#1

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #1 spot on the list. Charlottesville, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 94 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $48-$75k list, University of Virginia has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus is $14,671 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, 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 97%.

Full University of Virginia - Main Campus Mechanical Engineering Report

#2

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Tech. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k list. Blacksburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 407 students in 2019-2020.

Virginia Tech also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Virginia Tech is $19,067 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Report

#3

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, this large public school awarded 76 degrees to qualified bachelors’s ME students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $48-$75k list, GMU has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $20,468 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend GMU.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at GMU

#4

Virginia Military Institute

Lexington, Virginia

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Military Institute landed the #4 spot on the list. Lexington, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 23 students in 2019-2020.

VMI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend VMI is $10,362 for virginia bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 Virginia Military Institute Mechanical Engineering Report

#5

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, Virginia

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Old Dominion University landed the #5 spot on the list. Norfolk, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 145 students in 2019-2020.

Old Dominion also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $16,958 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Old Dominion.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Old Dominion

Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Richmond, Virginia, and it awarded 104 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

VCU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for VCU is $20,868 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 VCU

#7

Liberty University

Lynchburg, Virginia
#7 in overall quality

Liberty University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia For Those Making $48-$75k list. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Lynchburg, Virginia. It awarded 36 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Liberty University also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $27,831 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Liberty University.

Full Liberty University 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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