Ramapo Ranks on Return-on-Investment College List

Out of all of the “Top College” lists that come out every year, the Return-on-Investment rankings released by PayScale this week might have the most practical implications for students and parents footing the bills for college educations.

The list ranks 850 colleges across the country based on the school’s tuition vs. what average students will earn after they graduate.

For in-state attendees, Ramapo College ranked Number 306 on the list overall, and Number 94 out of 437 schools ranked in terms of its ROI for public in-state universities.

According to the list, Ramapo cost attendees about $110K in 2012. It lists the average starting salary for a graduate at $40,100. The 30-year Return on Investment listed is $690,000. The list calculates the ROI by comparing the difference in average earnings between a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from that school vs. the earnings of a high school graduate.

“This ROI represents a net return on investment after the opportunity cost (High School Graduate Earnings) and cost of investment (tuition, room, board, books, etc.) have been taken into account,” the list explains.

Ramapo ranked 349th on the list for out-of-state attendees, who pay higher fees to attend the school.

The top spot overall on the 2013 list went to Harvey Mudd College in California. The school costs $221,700, but the average starting salary of a graduate is $66,800. The 30-year net ROI for the school is listed as $2,113,000.

See the full list here.

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