Wabash College ranked 64th nationally in the 2016 PayScale.com ROI report, a ranking of the best return on investment in higher education.
Wabash graduates can expect to earn $599,000 more than a high school graduate over a 20-year period following degree completion. That figure placed Wabash in the top five percent nationally of the 1,344 schools ranked for providing the best monetary return through a combination of low cost of attendance and a high earnings potential for alumni.
Based on this ranking, Wabash graduates earn more than $355,000 over a 20-year period than the median college graduate, which breaks down to better than $17,750 annually.
Wabash, Rose-Hulman, Purdue, and Notre Dame were the only Indiana higher education institutions to appear in PayScale’s top-65 slots, outdistancing Indiana (322nd), and DePauw (340th). The Wabash placement also topped all other Great Lakes College Association members listed.
Further, Wabash’s four-year full cost of attendance, reported as $175,900, was the third lowest of all private schools ranked in the top 70 places. Wabash was joined by National Liberal Arts Colleges Harvey Mudd and Lafayette in the top 100.
“These PayScale rankings continue to show what we’ve felt for generations,” said Gregory D. Hess, Wabash College President. “When you invest in a Wabash education, you are setting yourself up for not only a wonderful collegiate experience, but a lifetime of success as well.”
The PayScale rankings are determined by the difference between the 20-year median pay for a bachelor’s degree recipient and the 24-year median pay for a high school graduate minus the cost of attendance.