Best Return on Investment
Colleges ranked by earnings-to-debt ratio. Higher = better value for your money.
#1
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ · Private
9.16x
ROI
Earnings: $95,689
Debt: $10,450
Acceptance: 4.5%
Grad Rate: 98.0%
🌍 24% International 👩 48% Women
#2
Franklin W Olin College of Engineering
Needham, MA · Private
8.39x
ROI
Earnings: $132,969
Debt: $15,846
Acceptance: 21.7%
Grad Rate: 93.7%
🌍 8% International 👩 48% Women
#3
United States Merchant Marine Academy
Kings Point, NY · Public
8.32x
ROI
Earnings: $83,209
Debt: $10,002
Acceptance: 32.5%
Grad Rate: 82.3%
🌍 0% International 👩 18% Women
#4
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA · Private
8.29x
ROI
Earnings: $111,222
Debt: $13,418
Acceptance: 4.7%
Grad Rate: 95.6%
🌍 29% International 👩 44% Women
#5
Stanford University
Stanford, CA · Private
8.15x
ROI
Earnings: $97,798
Debt: $12,000
Acceptance: 3.9%
Grad Rate: 95.2%
🌍 25% International 👩 48% Women
#6
Albizu University-Miami
Miami, FL · Private
7.08x
ROI
Earnings: $38,933
Debt: $5,500
Acceptance: 100.0%
Grad Rate: 50.0%
🌍 2% International 👩 86% Women
#7
Albizu University-San Juan
San Juan, PR · Private
7.08x
ROI
Earnings: $38,933
Debt: $5,500
Acceptance: 100.0%
🌍 0% International 👩 84% Women
#8
Duke University
Durham, NC · Private
6.9x
ROI
Earnings: $93,115
Debt: $13,500
Acceptance: 6.8%
Grad Rate: 95.5%
🌍 25% International 👩 55% Women
#9
Yale University
New Haven, CT · Private
6.75x
ROI
Earnings: $88,655
Debt: $13,142
Acceptance: 4.5%
Grad Rate: 96.4%
🌍 24% International 👩 53% Women
#10
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA · Private
6.7x
ROI
Earnings: $84,918
Debt: $12,665
Acceptance: 3.5%
Grad Rate: 97.6%
🌍 26% International 👩 54% Women
#11
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD · Private
6.53x
ROI
Earnings: $83,287
Debt: $12,750
Acceptance: 7.6%
Grad Rate: 94.4%
🌍 26% International 👩 52% Women
#12
Rice University
Houston, TX · Private
6.47x
ROI
Earnings: $77,683
Debt: $12,000
Acceptance: 7.9%
Grad Rate: 94.2%
🌍 26% International 👩 44% Women
#13
Logan University
Chesterfield, MO · Private
6.42x
ROI
Earnings: $49,932
Debt: $7,783
Acceptance: 90.0%
🌍 2% International 👩 55% Women
#14
Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing
New York, NY · Private
6.35x
ROI
Earnings: $97,560
Debt: $15,375
Acceptance: N/A
Grad Rate: 100.0%
🌍 0% International 👩 88% Women
#15
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA · Private
6.32x
ROI
Earnings: $112,166
Debt: $17,747
Acceptance: 3.1%
Grad Rate: 91.6%
🌍 32% International 👩 39% Women
#16
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY · Private
6.29x
ROI
Earnings: $91,176
Debt: $14,500
Acceptance: 8.2%
Grad Rate: 95.4%
🌍 26% International 👩 53% Women
#17
University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis
Saint Louis, MO · Private
6.23x
ROI
Earnings: $121,576
Debt: $19,500
Acceptance: 75.1%
Grad Rate: 80.8%
🌍 3% International 👩 62% Women
#18
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA · Private
6.22x
ROI
Earnings: $66,531
Debt: $10,700
Acceptance: 13.9%
Grad Rate: 93.7%
🌍 14% International 👩 99% Women
#19
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · Private
6.16x
ROI
Earnings: $103,246
Debt: $16,763
Acceptance: 5.9%
Grad Rate: 95.5%
🌍 24% International 👩 56% Women
#20
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT · Private
6.16x
ROI
Earnings: $70,785
Debt: $11,500
Acceptance: 69.2%
Grad Rate: 75.4%
🌍 3% International 👩 52% Women
#21
Brown University
Providence, RI · Private
6.07x
ROI
Earnings: $78,943
Debt: $13,000
Acceptance: 5.2%
Grad Rate: 95.3%
🌍 20% International 👩 52% Women
#22
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
New York, NY · Public
6.03x
ROI
Earnings: $67,136
Debt: $11,130
Acceptance: 50.5%
Grad Rate: 72.5%
🌍 9% International 👩 51% Women
#23
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public
5.95x
ROI
Earnings: $80,364
Debt: $13,500
Acceptance: 11.7%
Grad Rate: 92.3%
🌍 17% International 👩 54% Women
#24
Helene Fuld College of Nursing
New York, NY · Private
5.9x
ROI
Earnings: $90,038
Debt: $15,250
Acceptance: 23.8%
🌍 0% International 👩 87% Women
#25
Georgetown University
Washington, DC · Private
5.84x
ROI
Earnings: $96,375
Debt: $16,500
Acceptance: 13.1%
Grad Rate: 94.2%
🌍 17% International 👩 55% Women
#26
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont, CA · Private
5.77x
ROI
Earnings: $86,571
Debt: $15,000
Acceptance: 11.1%
Grad Rate: 92.3%
🌍 15% International 👩 50% Women
#27
Pomona College
Claremont, CA · Private
5.76x
ROI
Earnings: $69,149
Debt: $12,000
Acceptance: 6.8%
Grad Rate: 94.0%
🌍 13% International 👩 55% Women
#28
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
Rochester, MN · Private
5.73x
ROI
Earnings: $68,712
Debt: $12,000
Acceptance: 38.7%
🌍 11% International 👩 60% Women
#29
Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science
Los Angeles, CA · Private
5.64x
ROI
Earnings: $105,693
Debt: $18,750
Acceptance: 38.8%
0 🌍 0% International 👩 66% Women
#30
Williams College
Williamstown, MA · Private
5.51x
ROI
Earnings: $71,608
Debt: $13,000
Acceptance: 10.0%
Grad Rate: 96.0%
🌍 10% International 👩 52% Women
#31
University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
San Juan, PR · Public
5.51x
ROI
Earnings: $30,290
Debt: $5,500
Acceptance: 53.2%
Grad Rate: 53.2%
🌍 0% International 👩 61% Women
#32
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN · Private
5.5x
ROI
Earnings: $79,872
Debt: $14,509
Acceptance: 6.3%
Grad Rate: 92.8%
🌍 13% International 👩 56% Women
#33
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH · Private
5.39x
ROI
Earnings: $91,627
Debt: $17,000
Acceptance: 6.2%
Grad Rate: 94.9%
🌍 21% International 👩 49% Women
#34
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL · Private
5.34x
ROI
Earnings: $80,033
Debt: $15,000
Acceptance: 7.1%
Grad Rate: 95.0%
🌍 21% International 👩 55% Women
#35
University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon
Bayamon, PR · Public
5.33x
ROI
Earnings: $29,332
Debt: $5,500
Acceptance: 92.5%
Grad Rate: 28.8%
🌍 0% International 👩 50% Women
#36
University of California-Davis
Davis, CA · Public
5.29x
ROI
Earnings: $69,766
Debt: $13,199
Acceptance: 41.6%
Grad Rate: 86.3%
🌍 15% International 👩 59% Women
#37
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL · Private
5.26x
ROI
Earnings: $76,730
Debt: $14,601
Acceptance: 4.8%
Grad Rate: 96.0%
🌍 31% International 👩 46% Women
#38
Haverford College
Haverford, PA · Private
5.25x
ROI
Earnings: $69,192
Debt: $13,177
Acceptance: 12.9%
Grad Rate: 92.6%
🌍 11% International 👩 57% Women
#39
Amherst College
Amherst, MA · Private
5.19x
ROI
Earnings: $71,567
Debt: $13,800
Acceptance: 9.8%
Grad Rate: 94.7%
🌍 12% International 👩 54% Women
#40
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA · Private
5.17x
ROI
Earnings: $93,021
Debt: $18,000
Acceptance: 15.7%
Grad Rate: 91.7%
🌍 12% International 👩 55% Women
#41
Center for Advanced Legal Studies
Houston, TX · For-Profit
5.13x
ROI
Earnings: $48,761
Debt: $9,500
Acceptance: N/A
🌍 0% International 👩 89% Women
#42
Brigham Young University-Hawaii
Laie, HI · Private
5x
ROI
Earnings: $49,232
Debt: $9,839
Acceptance: 37.9%
Grad Rate: 66.8%
🌍 48% International 👩 58% Women
#43
CUNY Queens College
Queens, NY · Public
4.98x
ROI
Earnings: $54,742
Debt: $11,000
Acceptance: 68.5%
Grad Rate: 53.4%
🌍 6% International 👩 54% Women
#44
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT · Private
4.96x
ROI
Earnings: $65,933
Debt: $13,293
Acceptance: 10.4%
Grad Rate: 93.6%
🌍 12% International 👩 54% Women
#45
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
Mayaguez, PR · Public
4.96x
ROI
Earnings: $40,889
Debt: $8,250
Acceptance: 52.2%
Grad Rate: 45.7%
🌍 2% International 👩 45% Women
#46
CUNY Brooklyn College
Brooklyn, NY · Public
4.94x
ROI
Earnings: $54,322
Debt: $11,000
Acceptance: 53.7%
Grad Rate: 54.5%
🌍 3% International 👩 58% Women
#47
Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA · Private
4.93x
ROI
Earnings: $108,988
Debt: $22,089
Acceptance: 13.1%
Grad Rate: 92.7%
🌍 10% International 👩 49% Women
#48
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public
4.92x
ROI
Earnings: $73,744
Debt: $15,000
Acceptance: 8.7%
Grad Rate: 91.3%
🌍 14% International 👩 58% Women
How ROI is calculated: Median earnings 10 years after enrollment divided by median student debt.
A ratio of 10x means graduates earn 10 times their debt within 10 years.
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