2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges for Veterans in Pennsylvania
14
Ranked Colleges
2,232
Degrees Awarded
$36,500
Avg Cost*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for veterans. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 46,178 people earned their degree in mechanical engineering, making the major the 21st most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $69,007 and had an average of $23,944 in loans still to pay off.
Across Pennsylvania, there were 2,232 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,068 and $25,287 respectively.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME” ranking analyzed 14 colleges that offered a degree in mechanical engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality mechanical engineering programs as well as strong veteran support.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME
The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania vets studying me.
Top 14 Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges for Veterans in Pennsylvania
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME that were part of this year’s ranking, Carnegie Mellon University landed the #1 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 298 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
Carnegie Mellon also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 13,519 students enrolled at Carnegie Mellon, 117 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 72 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $18,422. To help with additional expenses, 36 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read More…
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Drexel University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME list. Drexel University is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 200 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
Drexel also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 23,589 students enrolled at Drexel, 2 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.
Full Drexel University Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME list. University of Pennsylvania is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 147 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our pennsylvania vets studying me list, UPenn has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 26,552 students enrolled at University of Pennsylvania, 324 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 131 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $19,383. During this same period, 78 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Pennsylvania]](/colleges/university-of-pennsylvania/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is a public institution located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 236 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Pitt also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 32,277 students enrolled at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus, 509 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 364 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $16,281. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Pitt Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Wilkes University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME. Wilkes is located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 45 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
Wilkes did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 4,781 students enrolled at Wilkes, 81 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 42 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $17,000. To help with additional expenses, 20 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Wilkes]](/colleges/wilkes-university/student-life/veterans/)
Villanova University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME ranking. Villanova University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 89 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Villanova also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 997 of the 11,032 students enrolled at Villanova University were GI Bill® students, of which 824 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,584. To help with additional expenses, 41 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
York College of Pennsylvania ranked #7 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME list. York, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s ME degrees to 48 students in 2020-2021.
YCP did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Among the 4,039 students enrolled at York College of Pennsylvania, 135 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 91 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $14,343. To help with additional expenses, 5 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 veteran student life at York College of Pennsylvania]](/colleges/york-college-pennsylvania/student-life/veterans/)
Temple University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME ranking. Temple is a large public school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 110 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
Temple also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 830 of the 37,236 students enrolled at Temple University were GI Bill® students, of which 510 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $13,479. During this same period, 9 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Temple University offers credit for military training for eligible students.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown ranked #9 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME list. University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown is a public institution located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 46 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Pitt Johnstown also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 54 of the 2,356 students enrolled at University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown were GI Bill® students, of which 25 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,575. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Pitt Johnstown Veteran Student Life Report
Gannon University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME ranking, coming in at #10. Erie, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s ME degrees to 27 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our pennsylvania vets studying me list, Gannon has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Gannon University supports 4,251 students, and 51 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 31 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $14,740. To help with additional expenses, 11 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Gannon University does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
Lafayette College did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME ranking, coming in at #11. Lafayette College is a small school located in Easton, Pennsylvania that handed out 60 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
Lafayette also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Lafayette supports 2,514 students, and 14 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 6 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $21,418. In addition to receiving other benefits, 3 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Lafayette College]](/colleges/lafayette-college/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #12, Lehigh University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME list. Lehigh University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 130 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Lehigh also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Of the 7,067 students enrolled at Lehigh, 34 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 16 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $15,051. On top of their other funding sources, 15 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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…
With a ranking of #13, Bucknell University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME list. Bucknell University is located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 38 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.
Bucknell not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, Bucknell supports 3,726 students, and 31 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 4 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $23,865. In addition to receiving other benefits, 14 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read More…
Widener University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in Pennsylvania for ME ranking. Widener University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chester, Pennsylvania. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 40 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Widener not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Among the 6,150 students enrolled at Widener University, 111 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 51 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $14,151. To help with additional expenses, 9 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Widener University does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Widener]](/colleges/widener-university-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)
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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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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
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