10 Great Colleges for Business Majors
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See 2016's list of the 10 best colleges for business majors.
Business is the single most popular major for college students today. But one of the first lessons future business leaders have to learn is "buyer beware." Some colleges' business programs seem to provide little in the way of an earnings boost for graduates, while other schools' names help get their grads' résumés to the top of job recruiters' lists.
Here are 10 high-value colleges where alumni with bachelor's degrees in business tend to out-earn their counterparts from most other schools.
These colleges scored the best overall when we combined Money's measures of each institution's educational quality and affordability, including graduation rates and student and parent debt loads, with the earnings reported to Payscale.com by alumni who earned a bachelor's in business and didn't go on to earn an MBA or other graduate degree.
Each of those main factors—educational quality, affordability, and post-graduate success—was given an equal weight of 1/3.
For more business-savvy advice, see our companion article "Find Your Best College for Majoring in Business."
10. University of California–San Diego
Location: La Jolla, Calif.
Estimated net price of a degree: $125,593
Average annual early career earnings for business majors: $52,100
Money Best Colleges overall ranking: 32
Read more about University of California–San Diego.
9. Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, N.Y.
Estimated net price of a degree: $201,768
Average annual early career earnings for business majors: $60,300
Money Best Colleges overall ranking: 34
Read more about Cornell University.
8. Brigham Young University–Provo
Location: Provo, Utah
Estimated net price of a degree: $80,988
Average annual early career earnings for business majors: $56,300
Money Best Colleges overall ranking: 15
Read more about Brigham Young University–Provo.
7. Clarkson University
Location: Potsdam, N.Y.
Estimated net price of a degree: $140,258
Average annual early career earnings for business majors: $64,400
Money Best Colleges overall ranking: 59
Read more about Clarkson University.
6. Georgia Institute of Technology–Main Campus
Location: Atlanta
Estimated net price of a degree: $111,093
Average annual early career earnings for business majors: $56,100
Money Best Colleges overall ranking: 30
Read more about Georgia Institute of Technology–Main Campus.
5. University of California–Berkeley
Location: Berkeley
Estimated net price of a degree: $133,549
Average annual early career earnings for business majors: $72,800
Money Best Colleges overall ranking: 9
Read more about University of California–Berkeley.
3. University of Virginia–Main Campus
Location: Charlottesville, Va.
Estimated net price of a degree: $97,028
Average annual early career earnings for business majors: $61,300
Money Best Colleges overall ranking: 17
Read more about University of Virginia–Main Campus.
4. University of California–Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles
Estimated net price of a degree: $127,664
Average annual early career earnings for business majors: $59,900
Money Best Colleges overall ranking: 26
Read more about University of California–Los Angeles.
2. University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia
Estimated net price of a degree: $194,148
Average annual early career earnings for business majors: $69,400
Money Best Colleges overall ranking: 12
Read more about the University of Pennsylvania.
1. Babson College
Location: Wellesley, Mass.
Estimated net price of a degree: $200,891
Average annual early career earnings for business majors: $59,800
Money Best Colleges overall ranking: 2
Read more about Babson College.