The 10 Best Colleges for Business Majors
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The odds that an undergraduate will end up majoring in business are surprisingly high. In fact, business is by far the most popular college major today, accounting for one out of five college diplomas.
But some colleges do a better job of preparing budding businesspeople than others. If you want a school that offers a great combination of educational quality, affordability, and respect from employers, take a look at these 10 colleges. They 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.
For more great choices, check out Money's full list of the 50 Best Colleges for Business Majors.
Note: These rankings are limited to schools for which sufficient numbers of each school's business program alumni filled out salary surveys on PayScale.com. There was not enough data to include several well-respected business programs including MIT's or Carnegie Mellon's.
10. Brigham Young University
Location: Provo, Utah
Estimated annual sticker price: $18,500
Percentage of students who receive financial aid: 44%
Average annual price for those who receive aid: $13,400
Average annual early-career earnings for business majors: $57,700
Average annual mid-career earnings for business majors: $97,500
Overall Money ranking: 5
Read more about Brigham Young University.
9. Georgetown University
Location: Washington, D.C.
Estimated annual sticker price: $67,100
Percentage of students who receive financial aid: 41%
Average annual price for those who receive aid: $28,100
Average annual early-career earnings for business majors: $61,200
Average annual mid-career earnings for business majors: $136,000
Overall Money ranking: 84
Read more about Georgetown University.
8. Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, N.Y.
Estimated annual sticker price: $66,200
Percentage of students who receive financial aid: 47%
Average annual price for those who receive aid: $31,100
Average annual early-career earnings for business majors: $62,200
Average annual mid-career earnings for business majors: $119,000
Overall Money ranking: 64
Read more about Cornell University.
7. George Institute of Technology, Main Campus
Location: Atlanta
Estimated annual sticker price: $25,700
Percentage of students who receive financial aid: 32%
Average annual price for those who receive aid: $13,300
Average annual early-career earnings for business majors: $58,500
Average annual mid-career earnings for business majors: $116,000
Overall Money ranking: 35
Read more about Georgia Tech.
6. University of Michigan
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Estimated annual sticker price: $28,100
Percentage of students who receive financial aid: 47%
Average annual price for those who receive aid: $17,300
Average annual early-career earnings for business majors: $60,300
Average annual mid-career earnings for business majors: $99,600
Overall Money ranking: 2
Read more about the University of Michigan.
5. University of Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, Va.
Estimated annual sticker price: $28,100
Percentage of students who receive financial aid: 29%
Average annual price for those who receive aid: $15,300
Average annual early-career earnings for business majors: $60,700
Average annual mid-career earnings for business majors: $105,000
Overall Money ranking: 9
Read more about the University of Virginia.
4. University of Notre Dame
Location: Notre Dame, Ind.
Estimated annual sticker price: $65,000
Percentage of students who receive financial aid: 57%
Average annual price for those who receive aid: $29,500
Average annual early-career earnings for business majors: $62,500
Average annual mid-career earnings for business majors: $122,000
Overall Money ranking: 31
Read more about the University of Notre Dame.
3. Washington and Lee University
Location: Lexington, Va.
Estimated annual sticker price: $62,500
Percentage of students who receive financial aid: 49%
Average annual price for those who receive aid: $22,600
Average annual early-career earnings for business majors: $60,900
Average annual mid-career earnings for business majors: $148,000
Overall Money ranking: 29
Read more about the Washington and Lee.
2. University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia
Estimated annual sticker price: $66,800
Percentage of students who receive financial aid: 50%
Average annual price for those who receive aid: $24,700
Average annual early-career earnings for business majors: $66,000
Average annual mid-career earnings for business majors: $135,000
Overall Money ranking: 26
Read more about the University of Pennsylvania.
1. University of California at Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, Calif.
Estimated annual sticker price: $35,700
Percentage of students who receive financial aid: 53%
Average annual price for those who receive aid: $18,200
Average annual early-career earnings for business majors: $70,400
Average annual mid-career earnings for business majors: $143,000
Overall Money ranking: 5
Read more about the UC Berkeley.