Colleges with the highest-paid grads

The United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Starting salary: $80,700
Mid-career salary: $130,000
% who think their job is meaningful: 59%

Students at the U.S. Naval Academy, also known as midshipmen, are allowed to pick their own major but the needs of the Navy often take precedence.

That's why the majority of grads often earn a degree in one of the lucrative S.T.E.M. -- science, technology, engineering, or math -- fields.

These grads are especially attractive to future employers because they have proven discipline: they must balance both a rigorous academic schedule and military responsibilities while at school, said Payscale economist Katie Bardaro.

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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