University of California, Riverside

In light of its culturally and economically diverse student body, the University of California, Riverside's outcomes are impressive. Students graduate at a rate of 77%, which is about 10% higher than at schools with comparable student demographics, according to Money’s analysis. Alumni salaries are impressive in the same vein. The median early career salaries are nearly $59,000, which is $9,000 higher than those of peers who come from similar institutions. The Riverside campus of the University of California system was born out of a center for citrus research, an area in which the university still specializes. Undergrad research opportunities are vast. Several years ago, for example, UCR engineering students designed a roof tile that breaks down the air pollutants that cause smog, and in 2015, a senior discovered a new species of firefly while collecting insects for class. The university is also home to the world's largest collection of science fiction and fantasy titles (it contains more than 100,000 books, plus another 100,000 fanzines). UC Riverside students are called Highlanders, a mascot that's a nod to the university's high elevation on the edge of the Box Springs Mountain. The side of the mountain features a large concrete C created by students in the 1950s, which takes inspiration from Berkeley's own mountainside C.