Prairie State Wire

The Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago earned spots on a new ranking by the Stacker website of universities with the best return on investment (ROI) for graduates.

The Institute of Technology, which finished 51st, had a 40-year ROI of more than $1.4 million, according to the analysis, which is based on a 2019 Georgetown University study. Northwestern (52nd) and the University of Chicago (58th) also had long-term returns on investment of more than $1.4 million.

Topping the Stacker ranking was the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health in New York, which had a 40-year ROI of more than $2.7 million. Graduates of campuses that focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) tended to have the highest future earnings potential, the study found.

Ninety-three percent of STEM jobs have pay that’s above the national average, according to Stacker, and graduates with bachelor’s degrees on average earn $32,000 more per year than Americans who don’t have four-year degrees.

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Top-60 List of Universities With the Greatest ROI

Rank	University or College	State / Jurisdiction	40-Year Net Present Value	10-Year Net Present Value	Graduation Rate	Median Debt
60	Bucknell University	Pennsylvania	$1,417,000	$90,000	89%	$25,250
59	George Washington University	Washington, D.C.	$1,418,000	$114,000	82%	$21,500
58	University of Chicago	Illinois	$1,420,000	$144,000	94%	$14,853
57	College of the Holy Cross	Massachusetts	$1,421,000	$90,000	92%	$27,000
56	Michigan Technological University	Michigan	$1,430,000	$185,000	67%	$19,500
55	Washington University in St. Louis	Missouri	$1,448,000	$134,000	94%	$18,500
54	New Jersey Institute of Technology	New Jersey	$1,453,000	$169,000	62%	$18,250
53	Fairfield University	Connecticut	$1,454,000	$103,000	82%	$23,000
52	Northwestern University	Illinois	$1,455,000	$162,000	94%	$16,500
51	Illinois Institute of Technology	Illinois	$1,462,000	$167,000	72%	$22,500
50	Vanderbilt University	Tennessee	$1,462,000	$169,000	92%	$13,440
49	University of the Pacific	California	$1,472,000	$129,000	69%	$20,121
48	Boston College	Massachusetts	$1,476,000	$117,000	92%	$18,962
47	Clarkson University	New York	$1,482,000	$132,000	72%	$242,250
46	Neumont College of Computer Science	Utah	$1,492,000	$192,000	56%	$23,041
45	Santa Clara University	California	$1,493,000	$133,000	89%	$19,166
44	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland	$1,508,000	$136,000	93%	$12,645
43	Claremont McKenna College	California	$1,516,000	$150,000	91%	$13,000
42	Case Western Reserve University	Ohio	$1,519,000	$121,000	82%	$22,000
41	University of Southern California	California	$1,520,000	$133,000	92%	$21,250
40	Milwaukee School of Engineering	Wisconsin	$1,520,000	$183,000	65%	$25,500
39	Tufts University	Massachusetts	$1,543,000	$122,000	93%	$16,052
38	Missouri University of Science and Technology	Missouri	$1,548,000	$213,000	64%	$16,998
37	Dartmouth College	New Hampshire	$1,561,000	$146,000	96%	$12,000
36	Villanova University	Pennsylvania	$1,563,000	$103,000	90%	$25,000
35	Washington and Lee University	Virginia	$1,578,000	$152,000	92%	$19,500
34	Cornell University	New York	$1,607,000	$160,000	94%	$12,305
33	DigiPen Institute of Technology	Washington	$1,616,000	$113,000	41%	$21,875
32	University of Notre Dame	Indiana	$1,626,000	$157,000	95%	$20,750
31	Princeton University	New Jersey	$1,642,000	$242,000	97%	$7,500
30	Kettering University	Michigan	$1,662,000	$153,000	57%	$24,500
29	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	Indiana	$1,665,000	$149,000	82%	$27,000
28	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	New York	$1,687,000	$150,000	83%	$27,000
27	Lehigh University	Pennsylvania	$1,688,000	$153,000	87%	$21,500
26	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	Massachusetts	$1,725,000	$133,000	87%	$27,000
25	Georgia Institute of Technology	Georgia	$1,729,000	$246,000	86%	$21,500
24	Carnegie Mellon University	Pennsylvania	$1,750,000	$183,000	89%	$24,500
23	Duke University	North Carolina	$1,754,000	$173,000	95%	$9,000
22	SUNY Maritime College	New York	$1,761,000	$210,000	60%	$20,000
21	Columbia University of the City of New York	New York	$1,769,000	$208,000	95%	$18,794
20	Yale University	Connecticut	$1,777,000	$218,000	98%	$12,000
19	Bentley University	Massachusetts	$1,786,000	$158,000	90%	$25,000
18	Colorado Schools of Mines	Colorado	$1,794,000	$203,000	77%	$21,915
17	California Institute of Technology	California	$1,810,000	$200,000	91%	$11,500
16	California State University Maritime Academy	California	$1,818,000	$265,000	63%	$20,500
15	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	$1,832,000	$222,000	95%	$12,500
14	Stevens Institute of Technology	New Jersey	$1,833,000	$162,000	83%	$26,000
13	Harvey Mudd College	California	$1,851,000	$187,000	95%	$21,254
12	Massachusetts Maritime Academy	Massachusetts	$1,869,000	$246,000	75%	$23,250
11	University of the Sciences	Pennsylvania	$1,928,000	$211,000	71%	$27,000
10	United States Merchant Marine Academy	New York	$1,949,000	$298,000	78%	$6,500
9	Georgetown University	Washington	$1,950,000	$198,000	94%	$14,750
8	Harvard University	Massachusetts	$1,967,000	$286,000	97%	$7,000
7	Babson College	Massachusetts	$1,985,000	$184,000	91%	$24,875
6	Maine Maritime Academy	Maine	$2,043,000	$251,000	66%	$27,000
5	Stanford University	California	$2,068,000	$307,000	94%	$10,874
4	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts	$2,273,000	$311,000	93%	$15,346
3	Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health	Massachusetts	$2,421,000	$247,000	76%	$25,000
2	St. Louis College Pharmacy	Missouri	$2,714,000	$389,000	72%	$19,500
1	Albany College of Pharmacy and Health	New York	$2,722,000	$385,000	74%	$25,000

Source: Stacker.com