<p>Bowdoin does well in terms of return on investment, coming at 22d place nationally. LACs ahead of it include Colgate (18th), Amherst (14th), and Harvey Mudd (4th). LACs below it include Williams (39th) and Middlebury (100th). [Here’s the full list.](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/education/average-cost-for-college-ROI”>http://www.payscale.com/education/average-cost-for-college-ROI</a>)</p>
<p>does this make you feel better about yourself? ;)</p>
<p>I would ask you exactly the same question . . .</p>
<p>One thing I don’t like about the study is that it doesn’t include any people who went on to get advanced degrees. I don’t know why they did this but that means they are excluding the earning power of all doctors and lawyers. An argument can be made that if a college prepares you for law school or medical school that is also a return on an investment.</p>
<p>I suppose that they were looking at in terms of what can a BA/BS do for you without anything else. It gets a little more complicated to assign the contribution of a BA or a BS to a career that requires further education and the contributions of a second or third university. That makes it a limited study, though, in showing the contribution of undergrad education to return on investment since that education can be parlayed into a grad degree and perhaps an even greater long-term ROI.</p>
<p>ROI also includes, or should include, what you WANT from your education. Some college grads deliberately seek the types of occupations they know up front won’t pay much in terms of dollars and pay huge dividends in terms of career and psychic satisfaction. </p>
<p>To put ROI exclusively in terms of money makes us no better than whores, that the only reason for being (or getting an education) is to boost earning power, not to mention everything that Pea said, above (#4), which is absolutely correct. That so-called ROI list is one of the most misleading and totally useless lists I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen plenty in my 56 years.</p>
<p>Agreed. My husband is a proud Bowdoin alumnus who deliberately chose a profession that provides rewards in ways other than big money. Did Bowdoin contribute to his professional success? Surely. A good return on investment, I’d say.</p>
<p>It is far too limiting to attempt to calculate “return on investment” by analysing salaries. There is a lot more to an education (as opposed to training) than employability. Also, not every student pays the same amount; therefore, one cannot accurately compare raw salaries.</p>
<p>One life-changing insight or life-long friendship could prove more valuable than a lifetime of financial earnings.</p>