The Wall Street Journal’s magazine SmartMoney released rankings of return on investment at some of the country’s most expensive colleges. The magazine analyzed tuition over four years as well as median salaries for recent graduates (graduates from 3 years ago) and mid-career graduates (graduates from 15 years ago). Penn State ranks 13th in their model, above the entire Ivy League.

Recent Penn State graduates had a median salary of $48,600, with tuition and fees of $93,108 over four years. The tuition for graduates 15 years ago was more than half of what graduates of three years ago paid with $44,168 over four years after being adjusted for inflation and are currently making a median salary of $83,000.

Out of the schools ranked ahead of Penn State, only two schools cost more for recent graduates over four years — Miami University (Ohio) and University of California-Berkeley. Other Big Ten schools on the list include Michigan at 32, Michigan State at 15, Indiana University at 12, Purdue at 8, and Illinois at 5.

About the Author

Katie Blitz

I'm a freshman Public Relations major. I was born in Staten Island, but I prefer to say I'm from New York City. I went to Brooklyn Tech High School, a specialized high school, and I'm very proud of it. I'm a huge sports fan - mostly (and sadly) a New York Jets fan.