OnlineU ranked the best colleges for bachelor’s and master’s degrees and the best online schools, based on a comparison of median alumni salaries in the year after graduation.
KIRKLAND, Wash. (PRWEB) May 25, 2022
The Great Resignation has led to thousands of open jobs, making employers more willing to hire students straight out of college to fill necessary positions. In these conditions, the right college degree can be especially valuable, putting a graduate in an advantageous position in a heated job market.
Additionally, amid the growing student debt crisis, it’s crucial to evaluate the cost of higher education as a financial investment that will provide access to competitive starting salaries. However, the value of any given college degree may not be easy to determine.
Optimal’s OnlineU.com has released its new proprietary Salary Scores to provide students with the data they need to make informed decisions about their education. OnlineU ranked the best colleges for bachelor’s and master’s degrees and the best online schools, based on a comparison of median alumni salaries in the year after graduation.
“We like to refer to Salary Score as 'the anti-U.S. News rankings' because it looks at quantitative data rather than the prestige of costly elite schools,” said Optimal CEO Sung Rhee.
OnlineU.com’s Salary Score uses earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education and compares the median alumni salary for the same programs at all schools. Each school receives an overall Salary Score by degree level to show how well it performs across all the programs it offers, weighted by student enrollment in each program.
“This year’s Salary Score rankings show that online colleges are continuing to make inroads against on-campus schools, offering competitive salary outcomes,“ Rhee said. “Additionally, we’ve found that some public schools showcase salary outcomes in line with those of Ivy League graduates.”
Students can use the Salary Score search tool to explore over 2,000 school profiles and compare how schools stack up in terms of post-graduate salaries. OnlineU.com also highlights key takeaways from the data, including how online schools compare in terms of Salary Scores, which states have the highest-earning graduates, and how the results compare to the U.S. News rankings.
About Optimal™
Optimal helps prospective students make informed, data-driven decisions to improve their collegiate experience and their post-college careers. The company provides over 85,000 in-depth student reviews, as well as college and bootcamp rankings for every major through its three major products, GradReports, OnlineU, and SwitchUp. Optimal’s tools and services provide accessible and transparent financial data regarding cost and earning potential that give students educational paths that lead them to success, without burdening them with insurmountable debt. https://www.optimal.com