The 31 colleges with the best bang for your buck

Mon, 09/04/2023 - 11:05

Tech Insider

Most graduating high school seniors have until May 1 to decide where they will go to college.
A bachelor's degree can increase your earning potential but also drown you in student debt.
Here are the top 31 colleges based on their return of investment.

Graduating high school seniors only have a few hours left to make one of the largest financial decisions of their lives: where to get their bachelor's degree.

College graduates have steadily been making more and more money than their counterparts without bachelor's degrees. At the same time, college has gotten more expensive and drowned many in student debt. To get the best bang for your buck, students need to consider how much they'll earn in the future from investing thousands of dollars in tuition, room, and board over the next four years. That makes May 1, when most students have to decide which institution they will attend, a financial rite of passage.

Knowing the return on that degree can make this decision a little easier. Thankfully, Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce built a database ranking 4,500 colleges on their return on investment using the average net price and earnings from the US Department of Education's College Scorecard. We ranked the top 31 colleges according to how much that investment will be worth in 40 years in today's dollars.

Here are the top 31 colleges with the best return on investment.

31. Princeton University

Type of college: Private, non-profit university in the Ivy League

Location: Princeton, New Jersey

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,642,000

30. Kettering University

Kettering University students in autonomous vehicle competition.
Business Wire/AP

Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university

Location: Flint, Michigan

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,642,000

29. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university

Location: Terre Haute, Indiana

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,665,000

28. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university

Location: Troy, New York

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,687,000

27. Lehigh University

lehigh university pennsylvania — ros516/Shutterstock

Type of college: Private, non-profit research university

Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,688,000

26. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

The city of Worcester, Massachusetts — Due to its central location in Massachusetts, Worcester is recognized as the 'Heart of the Commonwealth.'
Getty Images

Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university

Location: Worcester, Massachusetts

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,725,000

25. Georgia Institute of Technology

georgia institute technology — Wikipedia; Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

Type of college: Public research university and engineering institute

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,729,000

24. Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University building — Alexander Friedman/Getty Images

Type of college: Private, non-profit research university

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,750,000

23. Duke University

Jayson Tatum with the Duke Blue Devils.
AP Photo/Gerry Broome

Type of college: Private, non-profit research university

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,754,000

22. SUNY Maritime College

SUNY Maritime College Fort Schuyler — An aerial view of the State University Maritime College shows the historic Fort Schuyler in 1956, located in the Bronx, New York.
Business Wire/AP

Type of college: Public maritime college

Location: Bronx, New York City

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,761,000

21. Columbia University

Low Memorial Library at Columbia University in New York City — gregobagel/Getty Images

Type of college: Private, non-profit research university in the Ivy League

Location: Manhattan, New York City

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,769,000

20. Yale University

Type of college: Private, non-profit research university in the Ivy League

Location: New Haven, Connecticut

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,777,000

19. Bentley University

Type of college: Private, non-profit university focused on business, accountancy, and finance

Location: Waltham, Massachusetts

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,786,000

18. Colorado School of Mines

Type of college: Public STEM university with focus on energy and the environment

Location: Golden, Colorado

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,794,000

17. California Institute of Technology

Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university

Location: Pasadena, California

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,810,000

16. California State University Maritime Academy

Type of college: Public maritime university

Location: Vallejo, California

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,818,000

15. University of Pennsylvania

Type of college: Private, non-profit research university in the Ivy League

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,832,000

14. Stevens Institute of Technology

Stevens Institute of Technology New Jersey — Stevens Institute of Technology

Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university

Location: Hoboken, New Jersey

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,833,000

13. Harvey Mudd College

Type of college: Private, non-profit liberal arts college focused on science and engineering

Location: Claremont, California

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,851,000

12. Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Type of college: Public maritime university

Location: Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,869,000

11. University of the Sciences

Type of college: Private, non-profit university

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,928,000

* It merged with Saint Joseph's University in 2022.

10. United States Merchant Marine Academy

United States Merchant Marine Academy graduation — Class of 2019 graduates toss their hats during the 83rd Commencement Exercises for the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, in 2019.
J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images

Type of college: Public maritime academy

Location: Kings Point, New York

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,949,000

9. Georgetown University

Type of college: Private research university

Location: Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, DC

Return on investment in 40 years:$1,950,000

8. Harvard University

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. sitting outside a building at Harvard University in 1938. — Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. at Harvard University in 1938.
Bettmann/Getty Images

Type of college: Private, non-profit research university in the Ivy League

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,967,000

7. Babson College

Ying Chui Cheng, left, learns about creativity with her teacher, Mary Pinard, on the Babson College campus in Wellesley. Pinard teaches creativity to business students.
Janet Knott/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Type of college: Private, non-profit business school

Location: Wellesley, Massachusetts

Return on investment in 40 years: $1,985,000

6. Maine Maritime Academy

Type of college: Public maritime college

Location: Castine, Maine

Return on investment in 40 years: $2,043,000

5. Stanford University

Type of college: Private, non-profit research university

Location: Stanford, California

Return on investment in 40 years: $2,068,000

4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT Cheetah — MIT Biomimetic Robotics Laboratory members pose with the MIT cheetah robot in Killian Court.
Jose-Luis Olivares/MIT

Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Return on investment in 40 years: $2,273,000

3. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Boston skyline at sunset with yellow and red autumn trees — Boston, Massachusetts
DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images

Type of college: Private, non-profit university focused on health and life sciences

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

Return on investment in 40 years: $2,421,000

2. St Louis College of Pharmacy

A view of st Louis with buildings and archway — f11photo/Shutterstock

Type of college: Private, non-profit university focused on health sciences

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Return on investment in 40 years: $2,714,000

1. Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Type of college: Private, non-profit college focused on health sciences

Location: Albany, New York

Return on investment in 40 years: $2,722,000

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The 31 colleges with the best bang for your buck