Colleges That Bring in the Highest Paycheck 2012

Best Colleges For High Salaries

Location, prestige, academic reputation, and tuition are major factors for students in the college-selection process, but post-graduation 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 institutions offer the most valuable degrees?

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Recently, Payscale.com released a report on the highest salary potential among 1,058 of the nation’s colleges, and from this data colleges and universities can be ranked by the mid-career median salaries of its graduates. For schools with the same mid-career median salaries, starting median salary determines their relative rank. In the case of a tie in this number, the school with the higher starting salary is ranked higher. The ranking considered only people with undergraduate degrees, which ruled out post-graduate degree holders, such as lawyers and medical and pharmacy professionals.

Of the following top 10 highest earning schools, their graduates earn an average of $122,500 at mid-career, which is up nearly 5 percent over last year. As a few points of comparison, the bottom 10 schools’ graduates earn an average of $44,490 at mid-career, and the top party school by salary potential is University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with a mid-career salary of $95,900.

So, which schools have highest-paid graduates? Read ahead to find out.

Note: School ranking, enrollment and acceptance rate information is taken from the U.S. News 2013 College Rankings and Reviews.

1. Princeton University
Mid-career median salary: $137,000
Starting median salary: $58,300

Location: Princeton, N.J.
College rank: 1 (tie)
Acceptance rate: 8.46%
Enrollment: 5,249


2. Harvey Mudd College
Mid-career median salary: $135,000
Starting median salary: $66,800

Location: Claremont, Calif.
College rank: 12
Acceptance rate: 22.3%
Enrollment: 777


3. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Mid-career median salary: $127,000
Starting median salary: $67,400

Location: Pasadena, Calif.
College rank: 10
Acceptance rate: 12.8%
Enrollment: 978


4. U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapolis*
Mid-career median salary: $122,000*
Starting median salary: $72,200*

Location: Annapolis, Md.
College rank: 14
Acceptance rate: 7.5%
Total undergrad enrollment: 4,576

*Data represent those in the civilian labor force, not active service members.


5. U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point*
Mid-career median salary: $120,000*
Starting median salary: $76,000*

Location: West Point, N.Y.
College rank: 18
Acceptance rate: 10.6%
Enrollment: 4,624

*Data represent those in the civilian labor force, not active service members.


See the full list: Colleges That Bring in the Highest Paychecks


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