Offering great news for both current and prospective students, Tuskegee University has just been named among the Top 10 schools in Best Return on Investment by Payscale.com. The list, which included 1,330 schools across the country, included just 29 four-year institutions in Alabama, making Tuskegee’s spot even more important.
What is ROI?
Return on Investment, in general terms, refers to the amount of money a student can expect to earn as a result of their Tuskegee education. Several factors are taken into consideration, including tuition, job opportunities and average starting salary for graduates. Tuskegee’s average starting salary was found to be over $49,000 per year, far higher than many other institutions on the list.
Return on Investment is a very important factor when it comes to choosing a school. Nobody wants to be stuck with huge student-loan payments and few job prospects. A good Return on Investment is an investment in the future, helping to ensure that new graduates won’t be drowning in debt as they take their first all-important career steps.
Top 10 Best Return on Investment Colleges in Alabama
1. University of Alabama at Huntsville (in-state)
2. University of Alabama at Huntsville (out-of-state)
3. Auburn University (in-state)
4. University of Alabama (in-state)
5. Tuskegee University
6. Auburn University (out-of-state)
7. University of South Alabama (in-state)
8. University of Alabama (out-of-state)
9. University of South Alabama (out-of-state)
10. University of Alabama at Birmingham (in-state)
A Nation Indebted
Student loan debt has become a topic of national conversation in recent years. A disturbing number of students incur huge debts simply trying to obtain their degree. Worse yet, once those students graduate, they often face a very limited and fiercely competitive job market, one in which it’s very difficult or impossible to find a job which pays enough to live on and pay back student loans. This is, unfortunately, why many graduates from respected universities end up working several jobs at the same time, many of them entry-level positions for minimum wage, simply trying to keep ahead of their debt.
A ranking like Tuskegee’s should serve as a strong incentive for students. Not only does it indicate that Tuskegee’s costs are reasonable, but it also indicates that graduates have a very good chance of obtaining a well-paying job in their chosen field upon graduation. This means that most graduates will be able to live comfortably and pay off their debts while working one job. In an economy where multiple degree-holders are still taking jobs like cashiering, construction and pizza delivery just to make student loan and credit card payments, a single-job future is a tantalizing prospect.
Starting Smart
Although there are signs of economic upswing, the country has still not recovered from the recession which hit in 2008. Hopefully, today’s students will take a lesson from this unstable period in US history and make smart choices from the very beginning. For high school and college-age students, one of the most important of these choices is a strong ROI school.
