Is it worth it? Do the math.
A college degree is a six-figure decision, and you deserve more than a reputation ranking to make it. We scored 1,666 colleges on real ROI - what graduates actually earn versus what they paid - using U.S. Department of Education data.
Try MIT, Georgia Tech, or your school
The ROI Breakdown
How the 1,666 schools scored - click any tier to see those schools
Only 18% of schools score 75 or above. Most colleges deliver below-average financial returns relative to their cost.
Top ROI Schools
Highest return on your education investment
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Rice University
Houston, TX
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Yale University
New Haven, CT
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What if you worked and invested instead? See when (or whether) college outperforms the alternative.
Run the numbersLatest Analysis
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School AnalysisIs Clemson Worth It? The ROI Data on Clemson University (2026)
Clemson costs $15,554/year in-state and $40,866 out-of-state, with an average net price of $22,253 after aid. Graduates earn $71,513 at ten years and pay the degree back in 6.3 years. It is the best ROI in South Carolina, and it beats the state flagship at a lower net price.
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Every number traces back
to a government data source
No subjective rankings. No reputation scores. No sponsored placements. Just earnings, costs, debt, completion rates, and repayment data from the U.S. Department of Education.