Colleges with the highest-paid grads

Carleton is in Northfield, just outside Minnesota's Twin Cities.

Starting salary: $43,700
Mid-career salary: $117,700
% who think their job is meaningful: 48%

This small Minnesota school is known for its tight knit student body and strong academic programs.

A high percentage of grads quickly find jobs in high-paying fields like business, finance and healthcare jobs -- regardless of their major.

They get a lot of help from alumni, said Kimberly Betz, the school's career center director. Carleton grads are located across the country and many offer mini-internship opportunities just for Carleton students during winter break, she said.

First published March 5, 2015: 1:12 PM ET

Source: Source: PayScale.com. Data used in the College Salary Report came from surveys completed by roughly 1.4 million college graduates of 1,002 colleges and universities, which represent 75% of all bachelor's degree recipients in the U.S. Graduates with advanced degrees were excluded from the results. Only full-time, civilian workers based in the 50 states and District of Columbia were counted. The ranking is based on mid-career results, which comes from median salaries of graduates with 10 years of work experience. Whether a job is meaningful is based on the percentage of graduates who answered "Very much so" and "Yes" to the question: "Does your work make the world a better place?"

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