Why did you choose the college that you graduated from?
Did you look at the Princeton Review and make your decision based on which college had the best dorms, the best food, or the highest female to male ratio? If you did, you can freely admit it because you are not alone. The majority of college students put serious stock in these factors, as well as which majors are offered, classroom size, and student to faculty ratio.
A dozen college ranking systems have sprouted up in recent years and they look at an avalanche of data when evaluating colleges. Among all of these ranking systems however, there seems to be one piece of foundational data that is missing: Return on investment!
The new “Payback” survey by SmartMoney creates a payback ratio which is based on the average cost of 4 years of tuition, and the average salary of recent graduates (those graduating within the last 2 years), and mid-career alums (those out for 15 years). The higher the ratio between tuition sticker price and actual salaries, the better ranking the college received.
This ranking system gets at the heart of what Money for College Project is all about. The goal of attending college is to prepare yourself with an education and a degree that will benefit you financially in the future. You also need to manage your costs while in college and maximize your future earning potential. The “Payback” survey gives us a great reference tool to see which colleges actually succeed at preparing their graduates to make money in the real world without being saddled with enormous amounts of debt.
Rank
|
School Type
|
School
|
Payback Ratio
|
Starting Tuition & Fees (4 yrs., class of 2009)
|
Median Pay (recent graduate)
|
Starting Tuition & Fees (4yrs., class of 1996)
|
Median Pay (mid-career graduate)
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
Public
|
Georgia Institute of Technology
|
221
|
$87,810
|
$57,300
|
$27,867
|
$105,000
|
2
|
Public
|
University of Texas, Austin
|
194
|
$91,596
|
$49,100
|
$26,115
|
$87,500
|
3
|
Public
|
University of Florida
|
191
|
$73,476
|
$45,200
|
$26,221
|
$84,300
|
4
|
Public
|
University of Georgia
|
186
|
$77,957
|
$42,100
|
$24,676
|
$78,400
|
5
|
Public
|
University of Illinois
|
184
|
$91,382
|
$51,500
|
$33,808
|
$96,500
|
6
|
Public
|
Clemson University
|
160
|
$85,362
|
$47,500
|
$31,708
|
$83,800
|
7
|
Public
|
Purdue University
|
152
|
$86,538
|
$50,700
|
$36,730
|
$88,000
|
8
|
Public
|
Colorado School of Mines
|
149
|
$90,334
|
$61,600
|
$49,296
|
$113,000
|
9
|
Public
|
Miami University (Ohio)
|
146
|
$93,195
|
$45,800
|
$37,606
|
$91,400
|
10
|
Public
|
University of California, Berkeley
|
146
|
$104,815
|
$53,100
|
$45,304
|
$109,000
|
11
|
Public
|
Indiana University
|
128
|
$87,065
|
$43,000
|
$38,824
|
$79,800
|
12
|
Public
|
Pennsylvania State University
|
126
|
$93,108
|
$48,600
|
$41,848
|
$83,900
|
13
|
Public
|
University of Rhode Island
|
123
|
$89,164
|
$45,200
|
$44,244
|
$86,200
|
14
|
Public
|
University Connecticut
|
121
|
$88,824
|
$49,500
|
$47,128
|
$87,700
|
15
|
Public
|
Michigan State University
|
119
|
$90,372
|
$44,200
|
$42,639
|
$81,000
|
16
|
Public
|
University of Virginia
|
117
|
$107,395
|
$50,500
|
$50,140
|
$93,900
|
17
|
Public
|
Univeristy of Colorado,
|
114
|
$97,918
|
$46,200
|
$50,510
|
$91,600
|
18
|
Public
|
College of William & Mary
|
111
|
$103,799
|
$46,900
|
$51,926
|
$91,700
|
19
|
Ivy League
|
Princeton University
|
102
|
$131,740
|
$58,900
|
$77,550
|
$123,000
|
20
|
Public
|
University of New Hampshire
|
101
|
$93,615
|
$44,900
|
$49,601
|
$76,200
|
21
|
Ivy League
|
Dartmouth College
|
100
|
$137,364
|
$54,100
|
$76,269
|
$123,000
|
22
|
Ivy League
|
Harvard University
|
99
|
$136,977
|
$57,300
|
$77,104
|
$121,000
|
23
|
Private
|
Carnegie-Mellon University
|
99
|
$143,540
|
$62,400
|
$69,860
|
$108,000
|
24
|
Private
|
Bucknell University
|
99
|
$146,576
|
$55,800
|
$72,420
|
$115,000
|
25
|
Ivy League
|
University of Pennsylvania
|
97
|
$139,962
|
$59,600
|
$73,430
|
$111,000
|
26
|
Private
|
Colgate University
|
95
|
$145,340
|
$48,700
|
$76,340
|
$119,000
|
27
|
Private
|
University of Richmond
|
93
|
$147,860
|
$48,500
|
$56,160
|
$86,300
|
28
|
Ivy League
|
Cornell University
|
92
|
$135,733
|
$57,500
|
$74,634
|
$106,000
|
29
|
Public
|
University of Michigan
|
91
|
$121,010
|
$50,600
|
$64,392
|
$90,200
|
30
|
Ivy League
|
Yale University
|
91
|
$134,320
|
$52,600
|
$76,970
|
$110,000
|
31
|
Public
|
University of Vermont
|
88
|
$108,862
|
$44,700
|
$62,673
|
$83,800
|
32
|
Ivy League
|
Brown University
|
87
|
$141,654
|
$49,400
|
$78,027
|
$109,000
|
33
|
Private
|
Williams College
|
86
|
$138,770
|
$49,900
|
$77,195
|
$106,000
|
34
|
Ivy League
|
Columbia University
|
86
|
$144,961
|
$54,300
|
$74,268
|
$99,700
|
35
|
Private
|
Dickinson College
|
84
|
$139,942
|
$45,900
|
$73,110
|
$99,100
|
36
|
Private
|
Carleton College
|
84
|
$141,109
|
$42,300
|
$75,357
|
$105,000
|
37
|
Private
|
Bowdoin College
|
84
|
$142,190
|
$45,300
|
$75,565
|
$103,000
|
38
|
Private
|
George Washington University
|
83
|
$145,600
|
$48,500
|
$70,270
|
$93,500
|
39
|
Private
|
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
|
79
|
$143,003
|
$42,200
|
$75,453
|
$97,300
|
40
|
Private
|
Tufts University
|
78
|
$142,891
|
$49,900
|
$78,903
|
$96,400
|
41
|
Private
|
Wesleyan University (Conn.)
|
78
|
$143,474
|
$46,700
|
$77,190
|
$96,100
|
42
|
Private
|
Trinity College
|
77
|
$144,354
|
$46,500
|
$74,070
|
$90,600
|
43
|
Private
|
Tulane University
|
76
|
$143,516
|
$45,300
|
$76,894
|
$92,200
|
44
|
Private
|
Gettysburg College
|
73
|
$140,060
|
$43,200
|
$77,408
|
$90,100
|
45
|
Private
|
Vassar College
|
70
|
$148,155
|
$43,000
|
$75,881
|
$83,200
|
46
|
Private
|
Reed College
|
69
|
$141,730
|
$38,400
|
$78,310
|
$86,100
|
47
|
Private
|
Oberlin College
|
67
|
$141,712
|
$40,500
|
$77,202
|
$80,800
|
48
|
Private
|
Hamilton College
|
65
|
$143,790
|
$45,600
|
$76,700
|
$75,500
|
49
|
Private
|
*Franklin & Marshall College
|
61
|
$142,090
|
$47,500
|
$92,315
|
$82,500
|
50
|
Private
|
Sarah Lawrence College
|
60
|
$148,570
|
$38,600
|
$76,626
|
$72,100
|
No Ivy Leagues at the Top?
I think it is really interesting to note that the first Ivy League college we see is Princeton University, and it comes in at No. 19 on the list. On this scale, the high cost of an Ivy League tuition does not actually give as high a return on investment within the first 15 years in the working force, as 18 other colleges. Very interesting. I would imagine that if we extended the time horizon out to 25 or 30 years, that many Ivy League colleges would jump up the list, but in the relatively short term, the Ivy Leagues are not the winners here.
I also do not see any medical schools listen here. Granted, the survey does not list any individual majors in their list, but we can assume that most medical schools and their exorbitant tuition and fees, did not make the cut.
Not a True Representation
While reading through the data, and Smart Money’s creation of their ranking system, it becomes quickly apparent that their data is a little skewed. Fortunately, in our case, the data is skewed in our favor. The average cost of tuition used in the survey was out of state tuition sticker price. This means that if you paid in-state tuition, or if you received ANY financial aid then your earnings ratio will be a lot higher.
Can you figure out your own payback ratio?
All you need is your cost of tuition for your 4 year education, and your current salary. Divide your current salary by your cost of tuition, add two zeros, and you have your score. My score is 800.
I’m not rolling in the big bucks, but I was fortunate enough to escape college with virtually no debt, and having financial aid pay for all of my costs. Once financial aid is factored in, you can begin to see the true weight of this ratio. It can be very powerful!

Glad to see our to State Flagship universities in the top 10, Ga Tech, and UGA, (go dawgs!)
I think if more people spend the time studying the payback costs of their education, our country wouldn’t be awash in student debt! Good job!
Dr Dean recently posted..Cloned Banks: Why That’s Not A Good Idea!
Wow. Georgia has two Universities in the top 5. Impressive. My Alma Mater is in the top 6, so I am quite satisfied with that!
MoneyforCollegePro recently posted..New College Rankings Measure Graduates Ability to Earn Top Salaries
First, you need to remember that most students who come from the middle class or lower income wise don’t pay a penny of tuition at the Ivy Leagues- making that a very different ratio, regardless of what they reportedly charge.
The other thing skewing this data is that, as far as I can tell, it is only looking at undergrad. I also would be at a ratio of roughly 800- I went to my state school, where in state 4 years of tuition was just over 10k total (should have been class of 98). However, there is no way I’d be making my current salary if I hadn’t then gone on to grad school for an MBA.
Combining both, I’m still at a 160 (so it’s like I went to Clemson right?), but trying to claim my undergraduate education is what got me my current salary is not exactly honest.
@Shanendoah — You are exactly right. Not factoring in financial aid is a big gaff in my opinion. And you are right, I would really be interested to see the same scale for Graduate programs. Thanks for the insights.
MoneyforCollegePro recently posted..New College Rankings Measure Graduates Ability to Earn Top Salaries
I picked the college that I did because it was in-state and was all I could afford. However, it was is a really, really good school (#7 on your list, Univ of Colorado) and I learned a lot there and loved it!
Jeff @ Sustainable life blog recently posted..Food in a Split Household
@Jeff — That is awesome. I have heard that the U of Colorado is an excellent school. Beautiful place to go to college, and it sounds like it had paid off well for you also!
MoneyforCollegePro recently posted..New College Rankings Measure Graduates Ability to Earn Top Salaries
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