Colleges with the highest-paid grads

Stanford's palm-tree lined campus near Palo Alto, Calif.

Rank: 8
Mid-career salary: $119,000
Starting salary: $61,300
% of grads who think their job is meaningful: 57%

Stanford provides a constant stream of computer scientists, software designers and engineers for firms in nearby Silicon Valley. Graduates who don't study science or math also do well here, thanks to the respect recruiters across the globe have for the university's rigorous academic standards, according to PayScale's lead economist Katie Bardaro.

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?"

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