2022 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in South Dakota

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 in South Dakota For Those Making $48-$75k” 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 Dakota, there were 205 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $63,150 and $27,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools in South Dakota For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 2 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 in South Dakota For Those Making $48-$75k” 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 in South Dakota For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for south dakota me students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in South Dakota

#1

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota

#1 in overall quality

$19,326 Average Net Price

$42,425 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend South Dakota State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value ME Schools in South Dakota For Those Making $48-$75k. South Dakota State is a fairly large school located in Brookings, South Dakota that handed out 103 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our south dakota me students whose families make $48-$75k list, South Dakota State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Dakota” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for South Dakota State is $19,326 for south dakota me students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at South Dakota State

#2

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Rapid City, South Dakota

#2 in overall quality

$20,299 Average Net Price

$62,300 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value ME Schools in South Dakota For Those Making $48-$75k. SD Mines is a public institution located in Rapid City, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 102 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SD Mines did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in South Dakota” list. It costs about $20,299 for South Dakota ME students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend SD Mines.

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 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

• Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $48-$75k)

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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