Private colleges tend to be more expensive than their public counterparts.
However, at the following schools, the payoff is worth the extra cost.
PayScale, the creator of the world's largest compensation database, recently looked at the starting and mid-career pay for over a million college grads — including professionals who graduated with a bachelor's from 963 colleges and universities.
For its College Salary Report, which was compiled using data from employees who successfully completed PayScale's employee survey, PayScale sorted the results by college major, degree, college, and type of school.
Students with a bachelor's degree from these private colleges go on to earn the highest salaries 10-plus years into their career:
18. Wabash College
Early career median pay: $59,000
Mid-career median pay: $121,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 55%
Undergraduate enrollment: 926
16. (tie) Williams College
Early career median pay: $54,900
Mid-career median pay: $122,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 56%
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,072
16. (tie) Santa Clara University
Early career median pay: $62,500
Mid-career median pay: $122,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 49%
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,486
15. Georgetown University
Early career median pay: $58,300
Mid-career median pay: $123,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 53%
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,595
13. (tie) Clarkson University
Early career median pay: $63,500
Mid-career median pay: $124,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 55%
Undergraduate enrollment: 3,247
13. (tie) Dartmouth College
Early career median pay: $62,600
Mid-career median pay: $124,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 57%
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,289
11. (tie) Duke University
Early career median pay: $63,000
Mid-career median pay: $125,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 60%
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,626
11. (tie) California Institute of Technology
Early career median pay: $78,400
Mid-career median pay: $125,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 59%
Undergraduate enrollment: 983
10. Carnegie Mellon University
Early career median pay: $71,700
Mid-career median pay: $126,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 51%
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,888
9. Yale University
Early career median pay: $62,500
Mid-career median pay: $129,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 66%
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,477
7. (tie) University of Pennsylvania
Early career median pay: $65,300
Mid-career median pay: $130,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 56%
Undergraduate enrollment: 11,548
7. (tie) Babson College
Early career median pay: $60,100
Mid-career median pay: $130,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 36%
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,107
6. Harvey Mudd College
Early career median pay: $77,700
Mid-career median pay: $132,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 68%
Undergraduate enrollment: 804
5. Stanford University
Early career median pay: $75,800
Mid-career median pay: $134,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 65%
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,019
4. Princeton University
Early career median pay: $67,300
Mid-career median pay: $135,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 60%
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,391
3. Claremont McKenna College
Early career median pay: $62,700
Mid-career median pay: $138,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 59%
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,301
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Early career median pay: $81,100
Mid-career median pay: $140,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 62%
Undergraduate enrollment: 4, 512
1. Harvard University
Early career median pay: $66,600
Mid-career median pay: $141,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 64%
Undergraduate enrollment: 10,338
Find out how your salary stacks up on PayScale.
