Private colleges with the biggest payoff

private college roi massacheusetts institute of technology

20-year return on investment: $943,600
Annualized return: 13.8%
Total 4-year cost of attendance : $224,500

This Boston-area school has been producing science and engineering students since it was founded in 1861. Since then, 81 Nobel Prize laureates have either attended or taught at MIT.

Almost 80% of MIT students study science, technology, engineering or math, in preparation for careers in aerospace and defense, computer software, engineering and financial services.

With an early career salary of more than $70,000 a year, these students are quick to earn back their undergraduate investment at top employers like Google, Apple, Oracle, Accenture and Boeing.

"Certainly they have an amazing reputation and they really do focus in STEM fields," said PayScale's Frank. "That combination absolutely has an impact for their graduates."

First published March 10, 2015: 1:18 PM ET

Source: PayScale
Based on employee survey data, PayScale calculated total median pay for each private school's undergraduate alumni over a 20-year period and compared it to the median pay for a high school graduate over 24 years. The return on investment (ROI) in 2014 dollars was determined by taking the difference between those median pay figures and subtracting the cost of attending the school in 2014 -- including tuition, room and board, and other costs -- and adjusting for scholarships and grants. The annualized ROI is calculated by dividing the earnings differential by the total cost and represents the percent of expected ROI received each year after graduation. Unlike in previous PayScale reports, the earnings differentials in this report do not take into account graduation rates. Alumni who attended graduate school or other higher education were excluded.

6 of 10