Tuition Sees Return
By Robert Wear
Tuition at Santa Clara may be high, but it's worth your investment, at least according to Payscale's new Return on Investment (ROI) Ranking for Colleges and Universities for the year of 2012.
Out of 1,248 schools, Santa Clara came in 28th place, up from 29th in 2011, and 33rd in 2010. Among 458 private schools, it comes in 23rd. Although the rankings are based solely on those with bachelor's degrees and nothing higher, which may exclude a fairly significant fraction of the alumni, the report still shows that Santa Clara is worth your money.
The full four-year tuition without financial aid in 2011 was $209,300, and the net ROI after 30 years is believed to be $753,700 on average. That's 9.2% of your money back each year for those without financial aid. Yet, 81% of the student body does have at least some financial aid with the average amount around $15,179, which brings the ROI up to $806,700. That's on average 10.5% of your money back each year.
Among 606 private schools ranked for mid-career salary, Santa Clara comes in 17th with the average salary at 108,000. Mid-career is defined as what many people consider the middle of their working life, which varies from person to person. This is usually around 20 years after their first day, however. With the average starting salary at $50,600, this is quite an increase.
Even though the return on investment is certainly positive for the entire school, certain degrees are better investments than others. The highest paid career is in software developing, programming, or engineering with an average salary at $126,587, followed by finance management with the average salary at $100,438. A financial analyst comes next with an average salary of $80,287.
In terms of jobs that pay by the hour, an attorney or lawyer tops the charts at and average of $82.50 an hour, distantly followed by a copy editor who makes an average of $25 an hour.
This is not to say that a degree dictates a career path, yet certain degrees are often a better investment than others based on what the highest paid industries are looking for.
Some alumni who graduated in 2012 have begun working in a various industries, and with a variety of salaries to match. Some who have worked in small tech startups have reported making around $40,000 while others who work in the financial industry reported around $60,000. However, the variety of degrees from people working in both these industries is not always what you would expect.
Santa Clara has produced many successful individuals who now live and work all over the world. The university has jumped up five rankings in just two years.
Contact Robert Wear at rwear@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.