New report details the link between Ivy League degrees and future earnings

• Elite private colleges underperform compared to flagship public institutions
• The University of Texas at Austin had a higher return on investment than USC
• But the very top colleges – the eight that make up the Ivy League – are worth it 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/consumer/article-13351131/ivy-league-degrees-future-salary-earnings.html

Ivy League (e.g. Princeton University)

Return on investment – $265,500

Price – $75,000 – $80,000 per year

Degrees from Ivy League colleges had by far the highest return on investment despite their very high costs.

The Ivy League consists of the following eight institutions: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale.

Elite privates (e.g. University of Southern California)

Return on investment – $135,000

Price – $70,000 – $80,000 per year

Prestigious private colleges like Fordham, Rice, Duke and Northwestern by comparison cost in the region of $70,000 and $80,000 a year but only offer returns of about $135,000 compared to the $265,500 Ivy League degrees generated.

While they may offer quality education and good earnings, in many cases that is offset by their steep price.

The authors of the study defined elite private schools based on a list provided in Howard and Matthew Greene’s book The Hidden Ivies, of which there are 63.

The University of Southern California had an average annual cost of attendance of more than $77,000 a year. Its return on investment was $170,000 after ten years, according to the analysis.

Going to university does almost always pay off, separate recent research shows. It found most college degrees offer better returns than the stock market.

Flagship public (e.g. University of Texas at Austin) 

Return on investment – $148,000

Price – $20,000 – $40,000 per year

A better option may therefore be big-name public colleges, which were worth on average $148,000 despite costing between $20,000 and $40,000 a year.

These are the most prominent public institutions in various states. They include the University of Florida, Pennsylvania State, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

‘If you get into an Ivy, the ROI is going to be great. But if you’re part of the 99 percent of students who don’t get in, regional and state flagship schools can punch above their weight and allow a strong return on investment,’ Michael Itzkowitz, founder of HEA Group and the former director of College Scorecard, told Bloomberg.

The University of Texas at Austin had a return on investment of $176,000 and an annual cost of attendance of around $27,000.