A college education is an investment in your future. A new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) can help prospective students and their parents determine the return on that investment.  

In “A First Try at ROI: Ranking 4,500 Colleges,” CEW attempts to answer the often-asked question, “Is college worth it?” by using data from the College Scorecard to rank 4,500 colleges and universities by ROI.  

For those wondering if MSOE is worth it, the report answers that question with a resounding YES. 

MSOE was at the top of the list, offering the highest ROI of all colleges and universities in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota that offer bachelor’s degrees.  

“A First Try at ROI” determined that the type of institution a student enrolls in makes a difference in overall return on investment. Public colleges, where tuition is lower and students accumulate less debt, lead to better returns than private colleges at the 10-year horizon. But degrees from private nonprofit colleges like MSOE typically have a higher return on investment when measured in the long term. A degree from a private nonprofit college is worth $8,000 more annually 10 years after enrollment. Over the course of 40 years, the average graduate of a private college has a net economic gain of $838,000, even after paying off higher amounts of debt, compared to $765,000 for a graduate of a public college. And MSOE graduates see an even greater gain.  

The net present value of a degree from MSOE is:

• 10-year: $183,000
• 15-year: $465,000
• 20-year: $719,000
• 30-year: $1,159,000
• 40-year: $1,520,000  

“As I reflect on the decision I made 20 years ago on which college to attend, I find myself being thankful that at such a young age I had the vision and the support of my parents to choose MSOE. Life can be defined as a series of forks in the road and when presented with the choice of MSOE or the other five colleges I was considering, I chose MSOE and I’ve never regretted the decision,” said Lisa Vanlerberghe a 2002 industrial engineering graduate who is now the senior director plant operations for MillerCoors. “At the time, I thought it was expensive but I knew the short-term and long-term benefits would pay off. The high placement rate landed me a great job with a competitive salary before starting my senior year. The discipline learned through MSOE taught me to balance living today while investing in my future so student loans have been gone for a long time. I wouldn’t change anything about my decision 20 years ago on which school to attend.”

For more information, contact MSOE’s admissions team at explore@msoe.edu, (414) 277-7300, or schedule a visit online at msoe.edu/visit.