2023 Best Value Computer Science Associate Degree 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 computer science students. 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 and bootcamps that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Computer Science Degree Search has created its Best Value Computer Science Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota ranking. Our analysis looked at 5 schools in South Dakota to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for computer science 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 Computer Science Associate Degree 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 computer science students who want to pursue a associate degree in South Dakota. Watertown, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associate degrees to 25 students in 2020-2021.
LATI undergraduate students pay an average of $6,718 in tuition and fees each year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $16,724 in student loans.
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. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 44% took at least some of their classes online.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, LATI is ranked #1 for overall quality in South Dakota.
Out of the 5 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s value ranking, Southeast Technical College landed the # 2 spot on the list. This small public school is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and it awarded 58 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeast Tech are $7,650 per year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $20,480 in student loans.
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. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 45% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Southeast Tech also took the #2 spot in our Best Computer Science Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota rankings.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Dakota State University is a great place for computer science students working on their associate degree who want the most bang for their educational buck. Dakota State is a public institution located in Madison, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 24 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Dakota State are $12,735 a year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $27,139 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Dakota State. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 73% took at least some of their classes online.
Dakota State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Computer Science Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list.
The excellent associate degree programs at Western Dakota Technical Institute helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value computer science schools in South Dakota. Western Dakota Tech is a small public school situated in Rapid City, South Dakota. It awarded 10 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Western Dakota Tech are $8,332 a year. On average, associate degree students take out $20,643 in loans while pursuing their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Western Dakota Tech does offer online classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 43% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Western Dakota Tech also took the #4 spot in our Best Computer Science Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota rankings.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend National American University - Rapid City. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Computer Science Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list. This small private for-profit school is located in Rapid City, South Dakota, and it awarded 9 associate degrees 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, associate degree students take out $33,608 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out National American University - Rapid City. Every undergraduate student at the school took at least one class online.
National American University - Rapid City did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Computer Science Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list.
Read full report on National American University - Rapid City
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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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