2023 Best Value Schools in South Dakota
Identifying High-Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school or bootcamp that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Schools in South Dakota to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 12 schools in South Dakota to see which programs offered the best value experiences for students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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Top Value Schools in South Dakota
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Lake Area Technical Institute to be the best value school for students in South Dakota. Lake Area Technical Institute is a small public school located in Watertown, South Dakota that handed out 864 degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LATI are $6,718 per year. On average, students take out $16,395 in loans while pursuing their degree. Those who take out this much in loans have to make a monthly payment of about $115 if they are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from LATI, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $36,525 during the early years of their career.
LATI also made our Best Schools in South Dakota list, coming in at #5.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Southeast Technical College is a great place for students who want to get the most value for their educational dollar. Southeast Technical College is a small public school located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota that handed out 878 degrees in 2020-2021.
Southeast Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $7,650 in tuition and fees each year. By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $20,379 in student loans. Once they receive their degree, Southeast Tech graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $39,912 during the early year of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northern State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Schools in South Dakota list. Aberdeen, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 382 students in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at NSU are $11,947 a year. By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $28,374 in student loans. Once they receive their degree, NSU graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $38,422 during the early year of their career.
NSU not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Schools in South Dakota list.
The excellent programs at Mitchell Technical College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value schools in South Dakota. Mitchell Tech is a public institution located in Mitchell, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 474 degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Mitchell Tech are $7,524 a year. By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $14,782 in student loans. Those who take out this much in loans have to make a monthly payment of about $156 if they are on a 10-year repayment plan. Once they receive their degree, Mitchell Tech graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $40,678 during the early year of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dakota State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Schools in South Dakota list. Dakota State is a small public school situated in Madison, South Dakota. It awarded 598 degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Dakota State are $12,735 a year. Degree recipients from the school accumulate an average of $28,216 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.After graduating from Dakota State, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $49,355 during the early years of their career.
Dakota State also made our Best Schools in South Dakota list, coming in at #4.
South Dakota State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for students. It came in at #6 on the list. South Dakota State is located in Brookings, South Dakota and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2,586 degrees to qualified students.
South Dakota State undergraduate students pay an average of $12,809 in tuition and fees each year. Degree recipients from the school accumulate an average of $24,048 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Those who take out this much in loans have to make a monthly payment of about $173 if they are on a 10-year repayment plan. During the early years of their career, South Dakota State graduates make an average of $45,741 annually.
South Dakota State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Schools in South Dakota list.
University of South Dakota landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value programs. USD is a public institution located in Vermillion, South Dakota. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 2,185 degrees in 2020-2021.
USD undergraduate students pay an average of $12,942 in tuition and fees each year. Degree recipients from the school accumulate an average of $26,040 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $156. Once they receive their degree, USD graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $48,161 during the early year of their career.
Western Dakota Technical Institute came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Schools in South Dakota ranking. This small public school is located in Rapid City, South Dakota, and it awarded 424 degrees in 2020-2021.
Western Dakota Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $8,332 in tuition and fees each year. Degree recipients from the school accumulate an average of $19,757 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.After graduating from Western Dakota Tech, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $37,539 during the early years of their career.
Black Hills State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Schools in South Dakota list. BHSU is a small public school situated in Spearfish, South Dakota. It awarded 585 degrees in 2020-2021.
BHSU undergraduate students pay an average of $12,018 in tuition and fees each year. Degree recipients from the school accumulate an average of $24,854 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Once they receive their degree, BHSU graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $34,476 during the early year of their career.
University of Sioux Falls did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for students. It came in at #10 on the list. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out degrees to 532 students in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at University of Sioux Falls are $19,900 a year. On average, students take out $24,830 in loans while pursuing their degree.After graduating from University of Sioux Falls, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $40,299 during the early years of their career.
National American University - Rapid City ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Schools in South Dakota list. Rapid City, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out degrees to 544 students in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at National American University - Rapid City are $15,660 a year. On average, students take out $36,653 in loans while pursuing their degree.After graduating from National American University - Rapid City, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $42,187 during the early years of their career.
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Augustana University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Schools in South Dakota ranking. Augustana Sioux Falls is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 688 degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Augustana Sioux Falls are $35,914 per year. Degree recipients from the school accumulate an average of $26,115 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.After graduating from Augustana Sioux Falls, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $40,631 during the early years of their career.
Augustana Sioux Falls did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Schools in South Dakota list.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 12 schools only.
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%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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