These 15 Colleges Have the Best Return on Investment—Harvard Isn't One of Them

It's mid-December. For most of us this simply means the end of another year is nearly upon us. But for all the high school seniors anxiously awaiting news of whether they have secured an early decision spot at their dream school, this is the day that will make or break their winter holiday and determine not only the next four years, but the rest of their lives. In an age where the premium placed on the pursuit of a quality college education is higher than ever (quite literally), there are so many factors that go into deciding which university justifies its price. Is it Ivy League prestige? Ivy-adjacent cachet? The rah-rah Southern charms of tailgates, football, and Greek life? A lazy river and gourmet dining?

But what about the long-term view? Perhaps what's really most important to consider is whether the school will be worth the investment in 10, 15, 20 years' time. Will the six-figure price of these elite educations put students on track for the C-suite of a Fortune 500 company—or back to living in their parents' basement?

Since 2019, Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce has ranked 4,500 colleges by their return on investment, calculating their net present value (NPV) at various intervals, from the 10 years post-graduation up to the 40-year mark. (A measurement of how much value a college degree adds, the formula for NPVs takes into account what the average graduates of an institution will have cumulatively made within a certain number of years, minus the cost of their degrees.)

For more clarity on the subject we asked the advisors at IvyWise to analyze the data and narrow it down to a list of the top 15 colleges and universities with the best ROI. The consultants factored in a myriad factors, such as the cost of tuition; the instructional expenditure per student (IEPS), an underrated but useful metric showing how much a school spends on education; and the percentage of degrees awarded in STEM subjects, which unsurprisingly account for higher salaries. Criteria was further narrowed down to four-year, bachelor's degree institutions, while looking at just the 20-year NPV (shorter-term figures tend to have a positive bias towards colleges that cost less). The results are below. Spoiler alert: only three Ivy League institutions made the top 15, and Harvard isn't one of them.