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College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
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2026 Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

1 Colleges in the United States
$27,000 Avg Student Debt
$57,180 Avg Median Earnings (10yr)
2026 Best Value Petroleum Engineering Badge [Petroleum Engineering](/majors/engineering/petroleum-engineering/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.

For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 1 schools to find the best return on investment for petroleum engineering students.

What’s on this page:

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2026 Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in petroleum engineering, balancing cost against outcomes.

Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools

1
Marietta College crest
Marietta College
Marietta, OH

For return on investment in petroleum engineering, no school beat Marietta College this year. Marietta College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Marietta. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $39,652. Petroleum Engineering graduates carry a median of $27,000 in student loans. Petroleum Engineering graduates of Marietta College earn a median of $82,205 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $27,000 median debt. Roughly 79% of applicants are accepted.

Narrow Petroleum Engineering Schools by State

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Notes and References

This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 1 school evaluated.

*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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