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 degrees are most valuable?
Recently, PayScale.com released a report on the highest salary potential among the nation’s top colleges, and from this data, colleges can be ranked by the mid-career median salaries of its graduates.
So, which schools have highest paid graduates? Click ahead to find out!
By Paul Toscano
Posted 19 Aug 2009
15. Polytechnic Institute of New York University
Mid-Career Median Salary: $114,000
Starting Median Salary: $62,700
Location: Brooklyn, NY
2008-2009 Tuition: $32,345
College Rank: Unranked (Tier 3)*
Acceptance Rate: 72.5%
14. Calif. Institute of Technology
Mid-Career Median Salary: $115,000
Starting Median Salary: $69,700
Location: Pasadena, CA
2008-2009 Tuition: $34,437
College Rank: 6 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 16.9%
11. (Tie) Bucknell University
Mid-Career Median Salary: $116,000
Starting Median Salary: $56,100
Location: Lewisburg, PA
2008-2009 Tuition: $39,652
College Rank: 30 (Liberal Arts)
Acceptance Rate: 29.9%
11. (Tie) Duke University
Mid-Career Median Salary: $116,000
Starting Median Salary: $56,800
Location: Durham, NC
2008-2009 Tuition: $37,525
College Rank: 8 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 23.0%
11. (Tie) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Mid-Career Median Salary: $116,000
Starting Median Salary: $62,500
Location: Troy, NY
2008-2009 Tuition: $37,990
College Rank: 41 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 49.1%
10. University of Pennsylvania
Mid-Career Median Salary: $118,000
Starting Median Salary: $60,400
Location: Philadelphia, PA
2008-2009 Tuition: $37,526
College Rank: 6 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 16.0%
9. Yale University
Mid-Career Median Salary: $120,000
Starting Median Salary: $56,000
Location: New Haven, CT
2008-2009 Tuition: $35,300
College Rank: 3 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 9.9%
8. University of Notre Dame
Mid-Career Median Salary: $121,000
Starting Median Salary: $55,300
Location: Notre Dame, IN
2008-2009 Tuition: $36,847
College Rank: 18 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 24.5%
7. Colgate University
Mid-Career Median Salary: $122,000
Starting Median Salary: $51,900
Location: Hamilton, NY
2008-2009 Tuition: $39,545
College Rank: 18 (Liberal Arts)
Acceptance Rate: 25.6%
5. (Tie) Princeton University
Mid-Career Median Salary: $124,000
Starting Median Salary: $65,000
Location: Princeton, NJ
2008-2009 Tuition: $34,290
College Rank: 2 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 9.7%
5. (Tie) Stanford University
Mid-Career Median Salary: $124,000
Starting Median Salary: $67,500
Location: Stanford, CA
2008-2009 Tuition: $36,030
College Rank: 5 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 10.3%
4. Harvey Mudd College
Mid-Career Median Salary: $125,000
Starting Median Salary: $71,000
Location: Claremont, CA
2008-2009 Tuition: $36,635
College Rank: 14 (Liberal Arts)
Acceptance Rate: 28.1%
2. (Tie) Harvard University
Mid-Career Median Salary: $126,000
Starting Median Salary: $60,000
Location: Cambridge, MA
2008-2009 Tuition: $36,173
College Rank: 1 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 9.2%
2. (Tie) Mass. Institute of Technology
Mid-Career Median Salary: $126,000
Starting Median Salary: $71,100
Location: Cambridge, MA
2008-2009 Tuition: $36,390
College Rank: 4 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 12.5%
1. Dartmouth College
Mid-Career Median Salary: $129,000
Starting Median Salary: $58,200
Location: Hanover, NH
2008-2009 Tuition: $36,915
College Rank: 11 (National)
Acceptance Rate: 15.3%