Are you looking at ‘return-on-investment’ data to help create your college list?

[jym626]

@blossom

messy to call it data; there are too many variables that are not captured. And the “ROI” we cared about was academic rigor and intensity, none of which is reflected in who gets a job with which investment bank.

This. We did not look at ROI and as has been mentioned here and in another thread, these data are fraught with problems and limitations. Self report data is always limited. Both of my kids live in California and their kids/our grandkids will be dealing with college issues down the road. But it’s way down the road.

Problems and limitations with College career outcome reports: reading between the lines

As students are weighing their college acceptances/choices, one of the variables frequently mentioned is the college’s career outcome report, to consider how many of the school’s graduates are employed and what are their average salaries (usually starting salaries, though some also look at later career grads). While these reports can be an interesting metric, one needs to do a deeper dive and to be careful to recognize the limits and potential flaws with these reports. First and foremost, it is limited by the # of students responding to the surveys. As this excellent article Colleges’ career success stats don’t tell the whole story about how their graduates are doing after they get their degree notes, “This is, perhaps, the greatest selling point for any institution of higher education. Students consistently say that finding a good-paying job is among the top reasons why they go to college. As scholars of career education, we believe it’s important for students and families to know …