College 101
Is a Top College Worth Your Ca$h? Article Type: Quick and Dirty
There are a lot of big name colleges out there—you know, the ones with ivy growing up every wall—but are they really worth the sticker price? As it turns out, the answer is a resounding, triumphant, "well, maybe."
Private universities are usually ranked more highly than public universities (source). These private schools have large endowments, small class sizes, and reputations that attract world-class talent (source). Lists of universities with the highest return on investment (ROI) are likewise dominated by private schools. Like the one we found on Payscale.com.
However, the schools with the highest ROIs aren't necessarily the biggest public universities. They're generally institutions that produce a large number of graduates with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees. The evidence is clear and unsurprising: alumni in science, tech, and math earn more than their counterparts in other fields and they earn it earlier. Science FTW.
Problem solved, right? Go to a private school, study engineering, and win big? Got it. Let's all go home.
Wait, wait, wait. Actually, a few liberal arts schools, like Williams College, have alumni that boast median mid-career salaries over $100,000 per year. So what's an enterprising college aspirant to do?
Well, the smart money is still on a STEM degree at a school with a high ROI. You can make a liberal arts degree work, though, by researching schools with a strong department in your preferred field (source). For instance, we've heard highway robbery is an up-and-coming major.
If you decide to head off to a mid-tier college with a lower ROI, consider looking into ways to manage your debt load in order to maximize the financial return on your degree (source).
Oh, and take note: whether you choose a big name private school or a smaller public one, just having a degree is increasingly handy (source). Trends show that 65% of job openings will require at least some college education by 2020. Hopefully, by then we'll have figured out a way to improve on movie theatre nachos.