Business These 20 Public Colleges Are the Most Likely to Pay Off Financially

[Anonymous]

"To help students identify the public colleges that really do help freshmen graduate and go on to earn high salaries, MONEY screened through PayScale’s just-released return-on-investment data.

Our analysis of the public colleges where at least 80% of freshmen graduate within six years, and at least half finish in four years, holds some surprises. A few states dominate the list, for example. Five of the public schools with the best returns on investment are in California, four in Virginia, and two in New Jersey."

School 4-year graduation rate PayScale.com 20-year ROI*

University of California-Berkeley 72% $806,000
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 76% $667,000
University of California-San Diego 57% $643,000
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) 61% $633,000
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 69% $619,000
University of Virginia 87% $612,000
SUNY-Binghamton University 68% $604,000
University of Texas 52% $571,000
University of Maryland-College Park 67% $560,000
Rutgers University 59% $558,000
University of California-Los Angeles 72% $555,000
James Madison University 65% $544,000
University of Washington 61% $540,000
The College of New Jersey 73% $516,000
University of California-Davis 53% $514,000
The College of William and Mary 83% $514,000
University of Connecticut 67% $497,000
Clemson University 61% $492,000
University of California-Irvine 68% $492,000

[Anonymous]

Assumes you're paying in-state tuition.

[Anonymous]

Well, for Virginia, I am .

[Anonymous]

That's great -- just thought it was important (for others) to add that qualifier.

[Anonymous]

Of course colleges in higher cost of living areas will have higher salaries for their graduates.