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2023 Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Maine
Identifying High-Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Maine ranking. This report analyzed 8 schools in Maine to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for trade school students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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 Trade Associate Degree Schools in Maine
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Eastern Maine Community College to be the best value school for trade school students who want to pursue a associate degree in Maine. Eastern Maine Community College is a public institution located in Bangor, Maine. The school has a small population, and it awarded 281 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Eastern Maine Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,757 in tuition and fees each year. On average, associate degree students take out $16,692 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Online courses are available at Eastern Maine Community College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 66% took at least some of their classes online.
Eastern Maine Community College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Maine list.
Out of the 8 schools in Maine that were part of this year’s value ranking, York County Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in Wells, Maine, the small public school handed out 149 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
York County Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,640 in tuition and fees each year. On average, associate degree students take out $9,625 in loans while pursuing their degree.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at York County Community College. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 74% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
York County Community College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Maine list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Maine Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Maine list. Located in South Portland, Maine, the medium-sized public school awarded 721 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at SMCC are $6,677 a year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $12,655 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at SMCC. In fact, around 71% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
SMCC also took the #5 spot in our Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Maine rankings.
Out of the 8 schools in Maine that were part of this year’s value ranking, Northern Maine Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in Presque Isle, Maine, the very small public school awarded 92 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
Northern Maine Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,610 in tuition and fees each year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $12,571 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Northern Maine Community College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 61% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
The excellent associate degree programs at Central Maine Community College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value trade school schools in Maine. Located in Auburn, Maine, the small public school awarded 316 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Central Maine Technical College are $6,640 per year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $14,524 in student loans.
Central Maine Technical College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 57% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
University of Maine at Presque Isle came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Maine ranking. University of Maine at Presque Isle is a small public school located in Presque Isle, Maine that handed out 28 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UMPI are $13,520 per year.
UMPI does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2020-2021 year, about 64% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
UMPI also made our Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Maine list, coming in at #1.
University of Maine at Augusta landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree trade school programs. Located in Augusta, Maine, the small public school handed out 94 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UMA are $19,778 per year. On average, associate degree students take out $19,960 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Online courses are available at UMA, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2020-2021 year, about 79% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Beal College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree trade school programs. Beal College is a very small private for-profit school situated in Bangor, Maine. It awarded 120 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Beal College are $0 a year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $15,195 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Online courses are available at Beal College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 95% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Beal College also made our Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Maine list, coming in at #2.
Best Value Trade Associate Degree Schools in the New England Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 8 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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