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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][b]LACs that generate lots of future PhDs (like the three you flag) are going to suffer in "ten years out" income comparisons. The more "pre-professional" LACs are at least in-line with equivalently ranked universities--W&L at $72,300 and CMC at $75,000[/b], e.g.
[quote=Anonymous]LACs are a poor return on investment. There are plenty of data sources on this. Take a look at the salary yardstick here: https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=all Powerhouse LACs like Williams, Swarthmore, and Pomona (what I consider the top 3) have around 55K salaries 10 years after graduation! The Ivies are usually above 70K. UVA/Berkeley/Ann Arbor are at 60K. Georgetown is at a whopping 90K.

Another source is https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/williams-college

Median income at age 34:

UVA- $71,200
UC Berkeley- $67,900
UM Ann Arbor- $68,700

Williams- $62,600
Swarthmore- $56,700
Pomona- $62,000

So sure, you might have a great experience for four years, but is it really paying some grand dividend for the rest of your life? I don't get it.[/quote][/quote]

This above poster's PhD point is key--that really tilts the "ten year out" ranges--and often the most academically highly ranked SLACs are the ones that produce the most PhDs.  Also, SLACs are niche-based--if you know you'll likely want a PhD you're going to go to one of the ones that support that (and have a lower median salary--BUT you'll strengthen your chances of being paid well enough to do work you love).  If you think you want a consultancy gig, you'll look at the ones they recruit, some schools are strong pre-law/pre-med, others feed more into finance.  The other thing is that there is selection bias--people often choose SLACs because they value something other than just money and SLACs are a route to get that.  Median salaries will likely be off because the schools often admit to fill their departments--so you'll have art history, french literature, classics majors etc. in closer proportions than you might at a state school--if someone's dream is to be a curator going to a SLAC is the best route--even if the median salary is not high.  That said, SLACs are not the most cost-effective way to get a decent professional job in popular jobs--so if that's your primary aim of college SLACs might not be the best fit (unless you get lots of grant aid).  And some SLACs excel at supporting alumni's professional development and some don't.  It's also  important to dig in the data more if you're not coming from an upper middle class or higher family--are the high end opportunities mainly gotten through family ties or are they more evenly distributed across graduates.   I recommend all students though consider SLACs because the aid can be far better making them in some cases cheaper than in-state public (especially flagship publics in more expensive areas) and the 4 year graduation rates are usually much higher.

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