And while students should think long and hard about where they'll be happiest, with average student loan debt hovering around $37,000, students and parents can't afford not to consider earning potential post-graduation, as well.
As it turns out, some schools are doing a much better job of setting their students up for success in the job market than others.
To help students figure out which colleges provide the best monetary return for their alumni, PayScale compiled its 2017 College Return on Investment Report: Best Value Colleges.
All data used to produce PayScale's Return on Investment Package was collected from employees who successfully completed PayScale's employee survey. To calculate the ROI, PayScale looked at the investment in each college, which includes the cost of attending, as calculated by the cost for a graduate in 2016, on and off campus — and then looked at the 20-year return for each college, which is how much a graduate can expect to make over 20 years, minus the price of college.
See the full interactive list here, and keep scrolling for the top 27 colleges for your money. The "total cost" and "20 year ROI" figures are for students who live on campus.
27. New Jersey Institute of Technology (in-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $131,000
Net 20 year ROI: $688,000
Graduation rate: 59%
26. Harvard University
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $244,000
Net 20 year ROI: $700,000
Graduation rate: 98%
25. Massachusetts Maritime Academy (out-of-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $151,000
Net 20 year ROI: $712,000
Graduation rate: 70%
24. Missouri University of Science and Technology (in-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $87,400
Net 20 year ROI: $713,000
Graduation rate: 63%
23. Maine Maritime Academy (in-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $100,000
Net 20 year ROI: $725,000
Graduation rate: 70%
22. Babson College
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $246,000
Net 20 year ROI: $726,000
Graduation rate: 90%
21. University of California at Berkeley (in-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $136,000
Net 20 year ROI: $732,000
Graduation rate: 91%
20. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $232,000
Net 20 year ROI: $738,000
Graduation rate: 78%
19. Kettering University
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $208,000
Net 20 year ROI: $743,000
Graduation rate: 57%
18. Georgia Institute of Technology (out-of-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $174,000
Net 20 year ROI: $746,000
Graduation rate: 82%
17. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $235,000
Net 20 year ROI: $752,000
Graduation rate: 85%
16. Stanford University
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $247,000
Net 20 year ROI: $761,000
Graduation rate: 95%
15. Princeton University
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $231,000
Net 20 year ROI: $764,000
Graduation rate: 97%
14. Massachusetts Maritime Academy (in-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $89,900
Net 20 year ROI: $773,000
Graduation rate: 70%
13. California State University, Maritime (out-of-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $133,000
Net 20 year ROI: $781,000
Graduation rate: 54%
12. Stevens Institute of Technology
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $244,000
Net 20 year ROI: $800,000
Graduation rate: 82%
11. Colorado School of Mines (out-of-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $188,000
Net 20 year ROI: $818,000
Graduation rate: 76%
10. Georgia Institute of Technology (in-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $96,200
Net 20 year ROI: $824,000
Graduation rate: 82%
9. California State University, Maritime (in-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $87,500
Net 20 year ROI: $826,000
Graduation rate: 54%
8. Webb Institute
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $209,000
Net 20 year ROI: $854,000
Graduation rate: 91%
7. SUNY — Maritime College (out-of-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $130,000
Net 20 year ROI: $857,000
Graduation rate: 47%
6. California Institute of Technology
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $240,000
Net 20 year ROI: $864,000
Graduation rate: 92%
5. Colorado School of Mines (in-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $123,000
Net 20 year ROI: $883,000
Graduation rate: 76%
4. SUNY — Maritime College (in-state)
Type of school: Public
Total cost: $92,300
Net 20 year ROI: $895,000
Graduation rate: 47%
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $240,000
Net 20 year ROI: $959,000
Graduation rate: 91%
2. Harvey Mudd College
Type of school: Private
Total cost: $260,000
Net 20 year ROI: $962,000
Graduation rate: 90%
1. United States Merchant Marine Academy
Type of school: Federal
Total cost: $33,100
Net 20 year ROI: $1,056,000
Graduation rate: 72%
Jacquelyn Smith contributed to a previous version of this story.
