2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in Virginia
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering School for You
Mechanical Engineering is the #39 most popular major in Virginia with 947 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in Virginia ranking. Our analysis looked at 6 schools in Virginia to see which programs offered the best value experiences for ME students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Best Virginia Schools for Affordable Quality in Mechanical Engineering
Our analysis found Virginia Tech to be the best value school for mechanical engineering students who want to pursue a degree in Virginia. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $14,174 in in-state tuition and fees each year. ME majors at Virginia Tech take out an average of $24,998 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $399.
Virginia Tech also made our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Virginia list, coming in at #3.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Old Dominion University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in Virginia list. Old Dominion is a fairly large public school located in the city of Norfolk.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Old Dominion are $10,800 per year. On average, ME graduates from Old Dominion take out $26,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $129.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in Virginia list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Virginia are $19,785 per year. The average amount in student loans that ME majors at University of Virginia take out is $23,567.
University of Virginia also made our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Virginia list, coming in at #1.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in Virginia list. GMU is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Fairfax.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at GMU are $13,119 per year. While working on their degree, ME majors at GMU accumulate an average of around $22,180 in student debt.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, GMU also is in the top 15% of our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Virginia ranking.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Virginia Commonwealth University is a great value for mechanical engineering students. VCU is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Richmond.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at VCU are $15,028 per year. ME majors at VCU take out an average of $24,728 in student loans while working on their egree.
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With a ranking of #6, Liberty University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for mechanical engineering students. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Liberty University are $16,160 a year. After completing their degree, ME graduates from Liberty University carry an average student debtload of $27,000.
Request InformationBest Value Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Southeast Region
Explore all the Best Value Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 1,418 |
| North Carolina | 918 |
| Florida | 2,254 |
| Tennessee | 603 |
| Kentucky | 391 |
| South Carolina | 715 |
| Louisiana | 453 |
| Arkansas | 280 |
| Alabama | 1,019 |
| Mississippi | 309 |
| West Virginia | 217 |
More Mechanical Engineering Rankings in Virginia
Mechanical Engineering Related Majors for ME
One of 40 majors within the area of study, mechanical engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar to ME
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Electrical Engineering | 28,844 |
| Civil Engineering | 21,388 |
| Computer Engineering | 17,987 |
| Chemical Engineering | 12,917 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 12,811 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 6 schools only.
- 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 the rest 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Michel Villeneuve.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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