Evaluate an MBA’s Return on Investment
Many prospective business students look at an MBA as an investment, weighing the cost of attending a program with projected earnings. Salary-to-debt ratio is one way to evaluate that return — that number is calculated by dividing the average salary of recent grads by the average student debt of those who borrowed.
Here are 10 ranked business schools where full-time MBA grads earning more than $100,000 on average within three months of graduation received the highest return.
10. Rice University (Jones) (TX)
U.S. News business school rank: 25 (tie)
Average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating (2015): $137,299
Average debt (2015): $55,156
Salary-to-debt ratio: 2.5-to-1
More about the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice.
9. Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller)
U.S. News business school rank: 34
Average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating (2015): $121,752
Average debt (2015): $47,727
Salary-to-debt ratio: 2.6-to-1
More about the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
8. Arizona State University (Carey)
U.S. News business school rank: 35 (tie)
Average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating (2015): $117,758
Average debt (2015): $45,662
Salary-to-debt ratio: 2.6-to-1
More about the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU.
7. Texas A&M University–College Station (Mays)
U.S. News business school rank: 31 (tie)
Average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating (2015): $112,046
Average debt (2015): $42,833
Salary-to-debt ratio: 2.6-to-1
More about the Mays Business School at Texas A&M.
6. University of Arizona (Eller)
U.S. News business school rank: 60 (tie)
Average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating (2015): $100,866
Average debt (2015): $32,649
Salary-to-debt ratio: 3.1-to-1
More about the Eller College of Management at University of Arizona.
5. Pennsylvania State University–University Park (Smeal)
U.S. News business school rank: 41 (tie)
Average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating (2015): $116,686
Average debt (2015): $36,234
Salary-to-debt ratio: 3.2-to-1
More about the Smeal College of Business at Penn State.
4. University of Washington (Foster)
U.S. News business school rank: 27 (tie)
Average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating (2015): $127,142
Average debt (2015): $35,104
Salary-to-debt ratio: 3.6-to-1
More about the Michael G. Foster School of Business at UW.
3. University of Florida (Hough)
U.S. News business school rank: 37 (tie)
Average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating (2015): $115,664
Average debt (2015): $30,549
Salary-to-debt ratio: 3.8-to-1
More about the Hough Graduate School of Business at Florida.
2. Brigham Young University (Marriott) (UT)
U.S. News business school rank: 31 (tie)
Average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating (2015): $123,743
Average debt (2015): $22,521
Salary-to-debt ratio: 5.5-to-1
More about the Marriott School of Management at BYU.
1. University of Wisconsin–Madison
U.S. News business school rank: 27 (tie)
Average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating (2015): $120,379
Average debt (2015): $15,481
Salary-to-debt ratio: 7.8-to-1
More about the Wisconsin School of Business.
Learn More About Business Schools
See the complete 2017 Best Business Schools rankings and check out our MBA admissions blog to find advice on applying to business schools.
Follow U.S. News Education on Facebook and Twitter for the latest education news and advice.
More from U.S. News
4 Key Career Benefits From MBA Programs
10 MBAs With the Highest Return for Grads Earning $100,000+ originally appeared on usnews.com