Good news: College can actually pay off.
The White House released its college scorecard this morning, rating the US’s colleges and universities by how well their students fare after graduation and at what price. In his weekly radio address, the President said that the scorecard “will help all of us see which schools do the best job of preparing Americans for success.”
As the price tag for a college education continues to rise, and student debt tops $1 trillion, questions about what people are actually paying for their diplomas, and how much they’re getting in return, have been difficult to answer.
The newly released scorecard offers more insight than was previously available. Details are available for each school, including average tuition cost depending on family income and the percentage of students paying off their debt. The scorecard also provides some interesting rankings, like the 30 four-year schools with the lowest costs and highest graduation rates.
Below are the schools with the highest median earnings 10-years after graduation and the lowest average net price for low-income students. Some of the stats are not surprising—MIT, Harvard and Stanford grads all earn top dollar—but who knew a Harvard education was available for less than $4K a year?