Row of chairs with five counselors, ask the experts & CX logos, question mark

How Can My Student Find a College With a Good ROI?

Obviously, you want your student to go to a college that’s worth the cost. But how do you determine a school's return on investment? Here's some expert advice.

Suzanne Shaffer
Freelance Writer
College Coach
First, you should look at the college data for each school your student is interested in attending. I recommend the ETC College Rankings Index. This data gives you information on the percentage of graduates employed in their field after graduation, the average salary of recent grads, the college’s loan default rates, graduation rates, and more. Two more reliable sources for college statistics are College Navigator and College Data. Next, look at PayScale’s College Salary Report for associate and bachelor’s degrees. This will help you and your student compare salaries for careers in their field(s) of interest to the potential cost of their education. Doing this research will help your student find a college with a good return on investment. It’s also important to tell your students they should never borrow more than they can afford to repay. It’s a good rule of thumb to never borrow more than their anticipated first year’s salary, which is why it’s so important to research costs and think about potential careers before taking out loans.

Make the investment in college a little easier by helping your student find free money to pay for it using our Scholarship Search tool.

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress
Do you have a question for our experts?
College Matches
X

Colleges You May Be Interested In

SUNY Oneonta

Oneonta, NY

Meredith College

Raleigh, NC