As college acceptance letters begin to arrive in students' mailboxes, high school seniors and their families may want to consider this: The total cost of four years at a private institution averages $181,000, according to the College Board — more than double the $83,000 average that public colleges charge for in-state residents and 20% more than those schools charge out-of-state residents. In addition, many private colleges cost more than the published average, as much as $260,000 for four years.
"Two of the most pressing concerns of college applicants and their parents [are] paying for college and finding a job that pays back on that investment," according to a press release from the Princeton Review, which recently published the 2016 edition of "Colleges that Pay You Back: 200 Schools that Give You the Best Bang for Your Tuition Buck."
Almost one-third of those 200 schools are public colleges, and their median starting salary for graduates, at $49,650, tops the median starting salary of the graduates of private colleges on the list. Median mid-career salaries, however, lead at the private schools: $95,000 versus $87,400.
The Review analyzed 650 institutions for academics, cost, financial aid and graduation rates, based on surveys of administrators and students, plus starting and mid-career salaries of alumni from Payscale.com to come up with its list of the 200 schools deemed to have the best return on investment. (The highest ROI rating is 99.)
"Students who attend these schools don't have to mortgage their futures to pay for their degrees — and we believe they will graduate with great career prospects," The Princeton Review noted in a press release.
ThinkAdvisor has focused on the 13 public colleges included in the Princeton Review's "Top 25 Schools that Pay You Back (Even if You're Not Eligible for Need-Based Financial Aid)," a subset of the larger list, based on the idea that those colleges are likely the most affordable, especially for in-state residents. Three are located in California and Virginia, two in Florida, and one each in Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin.
Here are the 13 top public colleges for ROI:
13. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia
Undergraduate enrollment: 14,682; 31% Out of State
Acceptance rate: 33%
Student Faculty Ratio: 19:1
37% graduate in 4 years; 75% graduate in 5 years
ROI Rating: 90
Starting Median Salary: $61,700
Mid-Career Median Salary: $111,700
12. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Undergraduate enrollment: 39,619: 5.3% Out of State
Acceptance rate: 39%
Student Faculty Ratio: 18:1
52% graduate in 4 years; 76% in 5 years
ROI Rating: 89
Starting Median Salary: $52,200
Mid-Career Median Salary: $96,100
11. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois
Undergraduate enrollment: 32,959: 9% Out of State
Acceptance rate: 59%
Student Faculty Ratio: 18:1
69% graduate in 4 years
ROI Rating: 90
Starting Median Salary: $55,000
Mid-Career Median Salary: $97,100
10. Missouri University of Science and Technology
Rolla, Missouri
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,522; 19% Out of State
Acceptance rate: 86%
Student Faculty Ratio: 18:1
23% graduate in 4 years; 55% graduate in 5 years
ROI Rating: 92
Starting Median Salary: $62,400
Mid-Career Median Salary $98,100
9. University of Wisconsin – Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Undergraduate enrollment 31,289; 33% Out of State
Acceptance rate: 50%
Student Faculty Ratio: 17:1
56% graduate in 4 years; 82% graduate in 5 years
ROI Rating: 91
Starting Median Salary: $48,500
Mid-Career Median Salary: $88,000
8. New College of Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Undergraduate enrollment: 861; 15% Out of State
Acceptance rate: 61%
Student Faculty Ratio: 10:1
63% graduate in 4 years
ROI Rating: 91
Starting Median Salary: $39,800
Mid-Career Median Salary: $85,000
7. Virginia Tech
