30 Colleges for Worst ROI: 2016

With the costs of college continuing to climb, figuring out whether a school is a good investment is paramount for many when choosing the right place to earn a degree.

PayScale.com has released it annual list of how colleges fare in terms of return on investment. The list is a good resource for parents and students to consult when making a decision.

In the end, college is about more than dollars and cents, of course, but it’s hard to ignore the data in PayScale’s list. It might be worth considering whether being saddled with student loan debt is worth it for a school whose graduates earn less than students from other schools.

For some wiser picks, check out 30 Colleges for Best ROI: 2016.

The methodology PayScale used to compare 962 schools in the U.S. includes only data on graduates who earned bachelor’s degrees. It calculates 20-year ROI by taking the difference between the 20-year median pay for a 2015 graduate and the 24-year median pay for a 2015 high school graduate, then subtracting the 4-year cost of attending the college. Most of the schools on this list have a negative ROI.

Some public schools made this list separately for in-state and out-of-state grads; in those cases we eliminated the out-of-state numbers from our ranking. But the out-of-state grads, with higher tuition, fared worse.

Here, then, are the 30 Colleges for Worst ROI:

30. EVANGEL UNIVERSITY

Location: Springfield, Missouri

20-Year Net ROI: $4,430

4-Year Cost: $127,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 4

Average Loan Amount: $30,300

29. BUENA VISTA UNIVERSITY

Location: Storm Lake, Iowa

20-Year Net ROI: $1,300

4-Year Cost: $160,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 4

Average Loan Amount: $34,300

28. BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC

Location: Boston

20-Year Net ROI: ($3,700)

4-Year Cost: $231,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 4

Average Loan Amount: $62,000

27. RIPON COLLEGE

Location: Ripon, Wisconsin

20-Year Net ROI: ($5,100)

4-Year Cost: $168,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 4

Average Loan Amount: $35,400

26. NAZARETH COLLEGE OF ROCHESTER

Location: Rochester, New York

20-Year Net ROI: ($6,900)

4-Year Cost: $173,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 4

Average Loan Amount: $35,000

25. THE COLLEGE OF SAINT ROSE

Location: Albany, New York

20-Year Net ROI: ($7,100)

4-Year Cost: $166,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 4

Average Loan Amount: $30,700

24. CHATHAM UNIVERSITY

Location: Pittsburgh

20-Year Net ROI: ($7,200)

4-Year Cost: $182,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 4

Average Loan Amount: $23,500

 

23. MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY

Location: Mansfield, Pennsylvania

20-Year Net ROI: ($7,300)

4-Year Cost: $132,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 4

Average Loan Amount: $33,700

22. MARYLAND INSTITUTE COLLEGE OF ART

Location: Baltimore

20-Year Net ROI: ($8,100)

4-Year Cost: $216,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 4

Average Loan Amount: $34,200

21. ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY (in state)

Location: Elizabeth City, North Carolina

20-Year Net ROI: (9,000)

4-Year Cost: $49,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 5

Average Loan Amount: $19,500

20. UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT HILO (out of state)

Location: Hilo

20-Year Net ROI: $10,000

4-Year Cost: $116,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 5

Average Loan Amount: $27,900

19. CLARKE UNIVERSITY

Location: Dubuque, Iowa

20-Year Net ROI: ($11,000)

4-Year Cost: $160,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 4

Average Loan Amount: $35,300

18. (tie). MOREHEAD STATE UNIVERSITY (out of state)

Location: Morehead, Kentucky

20-Year Net ROI: ($14,000)

4-Year Cost: $119,000

Typical Years to Graduate: 5

Average Loan Amount: $24,200

 

17. (tie). UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE (out of state)

Location: Asheville, North Carolina