College Bang For The Buck

I just received the January issue of Smart Money magazine and am reading the article titled "Why The Ivies Aren't Worth It".  The magazine basically has a "return on investment" approach to their rankings.  They took the early and mid-career earnings of graduates at 50 of the most expensive colleges and then accounted for the tuition and fees.  From this data, they derived a payback ratio for each school.  University of Georgia is at #1 with an average payback of 338%.  I am thrilled that my alma mater TEXAS A&M comes in at #2 with a payback of 315%.  t.u. is not far behind...but still note that they are behind at #3 with a payback of 306%.  Actually, all rivalries aside, I could not be more pleased to see both Texas flagship schools with such high rankings.

As far as the Ivy rankings, a sampling of their paybacks are as follows:  Princeton 132%, Yale 127%, and Harvard 124%

This is great news for parents and students who are struggling in this economy to decide whether to invest in an Ivy League education.  Hopefully it demonstrates that public colleges are a great value.  There should be no shame in stellar students choosing them over an Ivy if money is a consideration, both in terms of paying for college and earning potential after graduation.