When Forbes releases its annual list of "25 Colleges With the Best Return on Investment," they use their own methodology to calculate their results.
A simple mathematical formula is all it takes to understand what a return on investment (ROI). First, take the amount of money accumulated in a select time period (Forbes used 30 years after graduating). Next, subtract the amount spent on the investment (how much four years of college cost). Take that number and divide it by the cost of the investment and you have your ROI figure.
Student satisfaction and post-graduate success make up over half of the school's score. The other categories are student debt, four-year graduation rate and academic success.
RateMyProfessors.com accounts for 17.5 percent of the total score, no other individual factor carries a bigger weight. Other factors are a "who's who" among alumni, salary of alumni, as found on Payscale.com and average federal student loan debt.
Click here to read about President Obama's plea to halt student loan rates.
Forbes selected 25 out of 650 institutions that offered undergraduate degrees requiring at least four years.
Some public state schools appear twice because the tuition is different for in-state and out-of-state students.
The top three schools are technology and engineering institutes and have a typical starting salary of at least $55,000. While those degrees may cost more and the workload more intense, the salary a new graduate can receive makes up for the investment.
These figures should not be relied upon to predict how future students will fare. The job market is always changing and schools are always changing their tuition figures. Massive online courses are also gaining popularity, which promise to change the college setup.
1. Harvey Mudd College
30-year ROI: $2,113,000
Typical starting salary: $66,800
2. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
30-year ROI: $1,991,000
Typical starting salary: $67,400
3. Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly)
30-year ROI: $1,622,000
Typical starting salary: $56,800
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
30-year ROI: $1,606,000
Typical starting salary: $68,400
5. SUNY Maritime College (in-state)
30-year ROI: $1,586,000
Typical starting salary: $59,000
6. Colorado School of Mines (in-state)
30-year ROI: $1,574,000
Typical starting salary: $64,200
7. SUNY Maritime College (out-of-state)
30-year ROI: $1,552,000
Typical starting salary: $59,000
8. Colorado School of Mines (out-of-state
30-year ROI: $1,510,000
Typical starting salary: $64,200
9. Stevens Institute of Technology
30-year ROI: $1,461,000
Typical starting salary: $60,900
10. Stanford University
30-year ROI: $1,432,000
Typical starting salary: $58,200
11. Georgia Institute of Technology (in-state)
30-year ROI: $1,389,000
Typical starting salary: $59,000
12. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
30-year ROI: $1,354,000
Typical starting salary: $62,300
13. Claremont-McKenna College
30-year ROI: $1,341,000
Typical starting salary: $49,600
14. Harvard University
30-year ROI: $1,334,000
Typical starting salary: $50,700
15. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
30-year ROI: $1,316,000
16. Massachusetts Maritime Academy (in-state)
30-year ROI: $1,316,000
Typical starting salary: $50,900
17. Georgia Institute of Technology (out-of-state)
30-year ROI: $ 1,304,000
Typical starting salary: $59,000
18. Santa Clara University
30-year ROI: $1,282,000
Typical starting salary: $50,600
19. Dartmouth College
30-year ROI: $1,262,000
Typical starting salary: $54,100
20. Massachusetts Maritime Academy (out-of-state)
30-year ROI: $1,259,000
Typical starting salary: $50,900
21. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
30-year ROI: $1,254,000
Typical starting salary: $59,500
22. Williams College
30-year ROI: $1,254,000
Typical starting salary: $53,600
23. University of Notre Dame
30-year ROI: $1,250,000
Typical starting salary: $53,400
24. Princeton University
30-year ROI: $1,234,000
Typical starting salary: $58,300
25. Babson College
30-year ROI: $1,228,000
Typical starting salary: $56,700
