Academics

Forbes Releases Annual '25 Colleges With Best Return on Investment' List

By

When Forbes releases its annual list of "25 Colleges With the Best Return on Investment," they use their own methodology to calculate their results.

A simple mathematical formula is all it takes to understand what a return on investment (ROI). First, take the amount of money accumulated in a select time period (Forbes used 30 years after graduating). Next, subtract the amount spent on the investment (how much four years of college cost). Take that number and divide it by the cost of the investment and you have your ROI figure.

Student satisfaction and post-graduate success make up over half of the school's score. The other categories are student debt, four-year graduation rate and academic success.

RateMyProfessors.com accounts for 17.5 percent of the total score, no other individual factor carries a bigger weight. Other factors are a "who's who" among alumni, salary of alumni, as found on Payscale.com and average federal student loan debt.

Click here to read about President Obama's plea to halt student loan rates.

Forbes selected 25 out of 650 institutions that offered undergraduate degrees requiring at least four years.

Some public state schools appear twice because the tuition is different for in-state and out-of-state students.

The top three schools are technology and engineering institutes and have a typical starting salary of at least $55,000. While those degrees may cost more and the workload more intense, the salary a new graduate can receive makes up for the investment.

These figures should not be relied upon to predict how future students will fare. The job market is always changing and schools are always changing their tuition figures. Massive online courses are also gaining popularity, which promise to change the college setup.

1. Harvey Mudd College

30-year ROI: $2,113,000

Typical starting salary: $66,800

2. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

30-year ROI: $1,991,000

Typical starting salary: $67,400

3. Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly)

30-year ROI: $1,622,000

Typical starting salary: $56,800

4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

30-year ROI: $1,606,000

Typical starting salary: $68,400

5. SUNY Maritime College (in-state)

30-year ROI: $1,586,000

Typical starting salary: $59,000

6. Colorado School of Mines (in-state)

30-year ROI: $1,574,000

Typical starting salary: $64,200

7. SUNY Maritime College (out-of-state)

30-year ROI: $1,552,000

Typical starting salary: $59,000

8. Colorado School of Mines (out-of-state

30-year ROI: $1,510,000

Typical starting salary: $64,200

9. Stevens Institute of Technology

30-year ROI: $1,461,000

Typical starting salary: $60,900

10. Stanford University

30-year ROI: $1,432,000

Typical starting salary: $58,200

11. Georgia Institute of Technology (in-state)

30-year ROI: $1,389,000

Typical starting salary: $59,000

12. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

30-year ROI: $1,354,000

Typical starting salary: $62,300

13. Claremont-McKenna College

30-year ROI: $1,341,000

Typical starting salary: $49,600

14. Harvard University

30-year ROI: $1,334,000

Typical starting salary: $50,700

15. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

30-year ROI: $1,316,000

16. Massachusetts Maritime Academy (in-state)

30-year ROI: $1,316,000

Typical starting salary: $50,900

17. Georgia Institute of Technology (out-of-state)

30-year ROI: $ 1,304,000

Typical starting salary: $59,000

18. Santa Clara University

30-year ROI: $1,282,000

Typical starting salary: $50,600

19. Dartmouth College

30-year ROI: $1,262,000

Typical starting salary: $54,100

20. Massachusetts Maritime Academy (out-of-state)

30-year ROI: $1,259,000

Typical starting salary: $50,900

21. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

30-year ROI: $1,254,000

Typical starting salary: $59,500

22. Williams College

30-year ROI: $1,254,000

Typical starting salary: $53,600

23. University of Notre Dame

30-year ROI: $1,250,000

Typical starting salary: $53,400

24. Princeton University

30-year ROI: $1,234,000

Typical starting salary: $58,300

25. Babson College

30-year ROI: $1,228,000

Typical starting salary: $56,700

© 2024 University Herald, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Join the Discussion
Real Time Analytics