The Top U.S. Colleges That Make New Graduates Rich

At the top of the list: Ivy League colleges and those with strong tech programs

By Kevin McAllister of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"the best-salaries list looks only at metrics related to graduate earnings and return on investment."

"private universities claimed 36 of the top 50 spots on the salary list."

"The criteria for the best-salaries list are twofold. To secure a top position, colleges need to put graduates on lucrative pathways at the beginning of their careers and keep the price of attendance in check.

When measuring financial success, the Journal and research partner Statista looked at income data 10 or 11 years after students entered college, combining that raw earnings data with the extent to which those earnings outpaced expected salaries, which were modeled on research done by the Brookings Institution. To gauge affordability and return on investment, the Journal drew on research from public-policy think tank Third Way, analyzing how long it would take for the salary premiums that graduates earn over the salaries of comparable high-school graduates to cover the estimated total cost of a four-year degree."

"Two-thirds of a school’s score on the salary list comes from graduates’ median early-career earnings"

"MIT graduates have the highest median, $133,793"

"While many of the colleges at the top of the list are household names, looking just at salary outcomes for graduates surfaces lesser-known colleges, too, that are greatly increasing the financial prospects of students. 

For Cylan Burns, who’s on track to graduate from No. 9 Missouri University of Science and Technology in December with a degree in engineering management, enrolling in the college was an easy choice, in part because he could see the positive outcomes of graduates.

“I wanted in-state tuition, and I’m from Missouri, so the choice is kind of obvious because S&T’s the best for engineering in Missouri and, I’ve heard, the nation,” Burns says.

Burns has held three internships and traveled to South America twice to complete rainwater and pipeline systems evaluations with the university’s Engineers Without Borders chapter.

“I’m not really worried about getting a job just because I have that experience,” says Burns. “I feel like they’ve set me up really well for success.”"

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