Colleges with the highest-paid grads

Colgate University is located in Hamilton, N.Y.

Rank: 12
Mid-career salary: $117,000
Starting salary: $51,800
% of grads who think their job is meaningful: 42%

With an enrollment of less than 3,000 undergraduates, this school in central New York State still manages to compete with some of the nation's biggest universities. More than 25% of Colgate's grads opt to pursue jobs in the lucrative financial services or business/management field.

First published October 23, 2013: 12:50 PM ET

Source: PayScale.com. Data used in the College Salary Report came from surveys completed by roughly 1.4 million college graduates of 1,016 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. Mid-career results were based on 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?"

12 of 16