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On Campus Blog
Alex Friedrich

Daily Beast: St. Olaf among colleges with the lowest ROI

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Check the math (derekbruff via Flickr)

My editor, a St. Olaf College alumnus, is going to kill me for this.

The Daily Beast has ranked the school #15 on its list of colleges with the worst return on investment -- in other words, what you earn after graduation relative to what you've spent on a degree.

Here are the stats presented:

6-Year Grad Rate: 84.9%

Average Net Price: $26,276

Average Starting Salary: $39,200

Average Midcareer Salary: $77,500

We all know higher ed is not just about punching a ticket to a good job.

So take it all with a grain of salt.

Note: I've received some critical feedback on this. I think it's important to note that a lot of these colleges are well-known names. As the note on methodology states, lots of other campuses weren't even worthy of consideration. I think this is a list of the lowest ROIs among solid colleges. It's appears to be a pretty simplified calculation, but raises interesting questions about the value of a college education.

All that said, you can decide how serious to take it. I find it interesting, but not worth spending too much of my time on.