The Most Lucrative Educations
Location, prestige, academic reputation, and tuition are major factors for students in the college-selection process, but post-graduate salary is something rarely taken into consideration.
Although salaries depend heavily on a graduate’s field of work, companies are willing to pay a premium for students hailing from the nation’s top universities. But which undergraduate institutions offer the most valuable degrees?
Recently, PayScale.com released a report on the highest salary potential among the nation’s top colleges, and from this data, colleges and universities can be ranked by the mid-career median salaries of its graduates. For schools with the same mid-career median salaries, starting median salary determines their relative rank.
So, which schools have highest-paid graduates? Click ahead to find out!
By Paul Toscano
Updated 25 July 2011
15. Amherst College
Mid-career median salary: $107,000
Starting median salary: $54,400
Location: Amherst, Mass.
2010-2011 tuition: $40,862
College rank: 2 (Liberal Arts)
Acceptance rate: 16 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 1,744
14. Bucknell University
Mid-career median salary: $115,000
Starting median salary: $55,800
Location: Lewisburg, Pa.
2010-2011 tuition: $42,342
College rank: 30 (Liberal Arts)
Acceptance rate: 29.9 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 3,543
13. SUNY Maritime
Mid-career median salary: $109,000
Starting median salary: $57,300
Location: Throggs Neck, N.Y.
2010-2011 tuition: $14,567*
College rank: 19 (Regional North)Acceptance rate: 63.1 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 1,575
*This figure represents out-of-state tution. Annual in-state tuition was $6,157 in the 2010-2011 academic year.
12. College of the Holy Cross
Mid-career median salary: $112,000
Starting median salary: $48,700
Location: Worester, Mass.
2010-2011 tuition: $39,892
College rank: 32 (Liberal Arts)
Acceptance rate: 36.5 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 2,932
11. Colgate University
Mid-career median salary: $112,000
Starting median salary: $48,700
Location: Hamilton, N.Y.
2010-2011 tuition: $41,870
College rank: 21 (Liberal Arts)
Acceptance rate: 32 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 2,825
10. Lehigh University
Mid-career median salary: $112,000
Starting median salary: $57,200
Location: Bethlehem, Pa.
2010-2011 tuition: $39,780
College rank: 37 (Liberal Arts)
Acceptance rate: 32.8 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 4,809
9. Stanford University
Mid-career median salary: $112,000
Starting median salary: $58,200
Location: Stanford, Calif.
2010-2011 tuition: $39,201
College rank: 5 (National)
Acceptance rate: 8 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 6,602
8. Duke University
Mid-career median salary: $111,000
Starting median salary: $59,600
Location: Durham, N.C.
2010-2011 tuition: $40,472
College rank: 9 (National)
Acceptance rate: 18.9 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 6,578
7. Polytechnic Institute of New York University
Mid-career median salary: $113,000
Starting median salary: $61,000
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
2010-2011 tuition: $36,284
College rank: 153 (National)
Acceptance rate: 55 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 1,732
6. Dartmouth College
Mid-career median salary: $114,000
Starting median salary: $51,600
Location: Hanover, N.H.
2010-2011 tuition: $40,437
College rank: 9 (National)
Acceptance rate: 12.6 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 4,196
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Mid-career median salary: $115,000
Starting median salary: $69,700
Location: Cambridge, Mass.
2010-2011 tuition: $39,212
College rank: 7 (National)
Acceptance rate: 10.7 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 4,232
4. Harvard University
Mid-career median salary: $116,000
Starting median salary: $54,100
Location: Cambridge, Mass.
2010-2011 tuition: $38,416
College rank: 1 (National)
Acceptance rate: 7.5 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 6,655
3. Harvey Mudd College
Mid-career median salary: $121,000
Starting median salary: $64,400
Location: Claremont, Calif.
2010-2011 tuition: $40,390
College rank: 18 (Liberal Arts)
Acceptance rate: 34.1 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 757
2. California Institute of Technology (CalTech)
Mid-career median salary: $123,000
Starting median salary: $69,600
Location: Pasadena, Calif.
2010-2011 tuition: $36,282
College rank: 7 (National)
Acceptance rate: 15.3 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 951
1. Princeton University
Mid-career median salary: $130,000
Starting median salary: $56,900
Location: Princeton, N.J.
2010-2011 tuition: $36,640
College rank: 2 (National)
Acceptance rate: 10.1 percent
Total undergrad enrollment: 5,113
