Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Located on Cape Cod, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy is in an ideal spot for lovers of all things nautical, which – as the name might give away – describes most of its roughly 1,700 students. The academy prides itself on getting students ready for both sea-going and shoreside careers, offering seven undergraduate degrees in fields such as marine engineering, marine transportation, international maritime business and emergency management. MMA is structured like a military academy. Students in certain majors are required to complete "sea terms," spending weeks training aboard a ship en route to a variety of U.S. and foreign ports. The academy does offer aspects of traditional college life, albeit on a smaller scale: Students can play on more than a dozen Division III sports teams and have their choice of several organizations, including clubs for chess, motocross and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. There's also Safe Harbor, a program that encourages MMA's students and staff to identify themselves as LGBTQ allies. The graduation rate of 85% is, according to Money, about 8% higher than expected based on schools with comparable student bodies. But the Academy really stands out in Money's outcomes measures, with median earnings well above those of colleges that enroll similar students.