Rutgers ranked 6th best return on investment

by: Jason Springer

Sat Dec 20, 2008 at 02:13:29 PM EST

Some good news about the State University of New Jersey, which hasn't exactly generated the headlines they may have wanted in recent weeks. From the Star Ledger:

Rutgers University is near the top of a survey that ranks colleges on their return on investment.
The survey in the January issue of SmartMoney magazine looks at what graduates earned three and 15 years after leaving school, then compared it to what they paid in tuition.
Rutgers ranked sixth, ahead of Ivy League schools like Princeton and Harvard.

The magazine provided some background for their scoring:

In a new twist on traditional college rankings, SmartMoney took a crack at quantifying the long-term value of a college education. Our goal was to spotlight the relationship between tuition costs and graduates' earning power. Working with consultant PayScale.com, which recently published a groundbreaking survey on alumni salaries, we first looked at what graduates from 50 of the most expensive four-year colleges earn in their early and midcareers. Then we factored in their up-front tuition and fees. The result? A unique "payback" ratio for each school.

The current cost of Rutgers in-state tuition to live on Campus including room and board is now $21,504 per year. For out of state students, it's going to cost them $31,718. Here's what the survey said about the return on that investment:

The survey found the median salary for Rutgers graduates was about $50,000 three years after graduation and about $92,000 after 15 years.

Three years out of college, I was a drag on that number and that's when it cost less to go there. A word of caution for the University, being a good return on your investment still doesn't mean people can afford you. As costs rise, grants dry up and loans become harder to get, this great opportunity for a return on their investment becomes that much harder to reach.

Jason Springer :: Rutgers ranked 6th best return on investment