2023 Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate 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 trade school students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate Schools in South Dakota ranking. Our analysis looked at 5 schools in South Dakota to see which basic certificate programs offered the best value experiences for trade school 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 Trade Basic Certificate Schools in South Dakota
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Lake Area Technical Institute the best value school in South Dakota for trade school students working on their basic certificate. LATI is a public institution located in Watertown, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 62 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LATI are $6,718 per year.
Online courses are available at LATI, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 44% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
LATI not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in South Dakota list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southeast Technical College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate Schools in South Dakota list. Southeast Tech is a small public school situated in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It awarded 17 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Southeast Tech are $7,650 a year.
Southeast Tech 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. In 2020-2021 about 43% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Southeast Tech did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in South Dakota list.
Out of the 5 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s value ranking, Mitchell Technical College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Mitchell Tech is a public institution located in Mitchell, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 18 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Mitchell Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $7,524 in tuition and fees each year.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Mitchell Tech does offer online classes for certain majors. In 2020-2021 about 33% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Mitchell Tech not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in South Dakota list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Dakota. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate Schools in South Dakota list. This medium-sized public school is located in Vermillion, South Dakota, and it awarded 29 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
USD undergraduate students pay an average of $12,942 in tuition and fees each year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at USD. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 58% took at least some of their classes online.
USD also made our Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in South Dakota list, coming in at #3.
Out of the 5 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s value ranking, Western Dakota Technical Institute landed the # 5 spot on the list. Western Dakota Tech is a small public school situated in Rapid City, South Dakota. It awarded 38 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Western Dakota Tech are $8,333 a year.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Western Dakota Tech. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 47% took at least some of their classes online.
Western Dakota Tech also took the #5 spot in our Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in South Dakota rankings.
Best Value Trade Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 5 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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