Colleges That Bring in the Highest Paycheck 2012

Of the following top 10 highest earning schools, their graduates earn an average of $122,500 at mid-career, which is up nearly 5 percent over last year. As a few points of comparison, the bottom 10 schools’ graduates earn an average of $44,490 at mid-career, and the top party school by salary potential is University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with a mid-career salary of $95,900. 

1. Princeton University

Mid-career median salary: $137,000 

Starting median salary: $58,300 

Location: Princeton, N.J. 

College rank: 1 (tie) 

Acceptance rate: 8.46% 

Enrollment: 5,249

2. Harvey Mudd College
Mid-career median salary: $135,000 
Starting median salary: $66,800 
Location: Claremont, Calif. 
College rank: 12 
Acceptance rate: 22.3% 
Enrollment: 777



3. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Mid-career median salary: $127,000 
Starting median salary: $67,400 
Location: Pasadena, Calif. 
College rank: 10 
Acceptance rate: 12.8% 
Enrollment: 978


4. U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapolis*

Mid-career median salary: $122,000* 
Starting median salary: $72,200* 
Location: Annapolis, Md. 
College rank: 14 
Acceptance rate: 7.5% 
Total undergrad enrollment: 4,576 


5. U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point*

Mid-career median salary: $120,000* 
Starting median salary: $76,000* 
Location: West Point, N.Y. 
College rank: 18 
Acceptance rate: 10.6% 
Enrollment: 4,624



6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Mid-career median salary: $118,000 
Starting median salary: $68,400 
Location: Cambridge, Mass. 
College rank: 6 (tie) 
Acceptance rate: 9.7% 
Enrollment: 4,384




7. Lehigh University
Mid-career median salary: $118,000 
Starting median salary: $56,900 
Location: Bethlehem, Penn. 
College rank: 38 
Acceptance rate: 33.4% 
Enrollment: 4,869




8. Polytechnic Institute of New York University
Mid-career median salary: $117,000 
Starting median salary: $56,800 
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y. 
College rank: 139 
Acceptance rate: 68.2% 
Enrollment: 1,939



9. Babson College
Mid-career median salary: $117,000 
Starting median salary: $56,700 
Location: Babson Park, Mass. 
College rank: unranked 
Acceptance rate: 33.8% 
Enrollment: 2,007







10. Stanford University
Mid-career median salary: $114,000 
Starting median salary: $58,200 
Location: Stanford, Calif. 
College rank: 6 (tie) 
Acceptance rate: 7.1% 
Enrollment: 6,988