Harvey Mudd Ranked High for ROI

Harvey Mudd College ranked No. 6 in the nation for return on investment in PayScale’s 2018 College ROI Report, an annual survey of alumni salaries that evaluates the cost of attending a college against long-term earning potential.

PayScale also ranked Harvey Mudd No. 1 for “Best Value Colleges for Science Majors,” followed by MIT, the U.S. Naval Academy, Princeton and Dartmouth. Harvey Mudd came in at No. 20 for “Best Value Colleges for Computer Science Majors.”

For the 2018 report, PayScale evaluated data from more than 1,461 colleges and universities, comparing costs of attendance to median alumni earnings over a 20-year period. PayScale used salary data for bachelor’s-only graduates who earned degrees between 1998 and 2017.

This year’s top 10 colleges for ROI in ranked order are: the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the U.S. Military Academy (Westpoint), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the U.S. Naval Academy, SUNY Maritime College (in-state), Harvey Mudd College, SUNY Maritime College (out-of-state), Colorado School of Mines, the U.S. Air Force Academy and California Institute of Technology (CalTech).

Harvey Mudd has consistently placed in the top of Payscale’s ROI reports over the past six years. The College held the No. 1 spot for four years straight from 2012 to 2015, ranked No. 3 in 2016 and No. 2 in 2017.

While Harvey Mudd’s ROI rates consistently high in PayScale surveys, the College’s mission remains to prepare leaders in science, math and engineering who understand the impact of their work on society, says Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid Thyra Briggs.

“Harvey Mudd provides an excellent math and science education within a broader liberal arts context,” said Briggs. “Our students not only gain strong technical and problem-solving skills, they also learn to communicate well and work collaboratively in teams. Our broad curriculum teaches them to think across disciplines and tackle complex problems.  This combination of skills makes them particularly valuable to employers and graduate schools.”

In PayScale’s 2017–2018 College Salary Report, a separate report issued in the fall, Harvey Mudd ranked No. 1 for mid-career salaries of all U.S. college and university graduates pursuing careers with a bachelor’s as a final degree. PayScale defines mid-career salaries as 10 or more years of experience in a field.