Cal Poly grads get better salaries than Harvard, other Ivy Leagues, new ranking says
Cal Poly ranked in the top 25 colleges nationwide for best graduate salaries, according to the Wall Street Journal and College Pulse.
The ranking is part of the Wall Street Journal’s annual compilation of the 500 Best Colleges in the United States.
To measure the best salaries, the news outlet compared salary impact — how much a college can boost its graduates’ earnings — against the school’s cost of attendance.
The San Luis Obispo campus sat at No. 23 on the national ranking, falling between Columbia University at No. 22 and Harvard University at No. 24.
Cal Poly also beat out Cornell (No. 25), Duke (No. 29) and Dartmouth (No. 53). MIT, Stanford and Princeton made up the top three in that order.
According to the list, the average Cal Poly student sees an $18,766 price tag on their education. But they also see over $58,000 in added value tied to attending the university.
Based on those numbers, the average Cal Poly grad should be able to pay off their education within one year and three months, according to the ranking.
Cal Poly ranks high for best salaries. How does it compare in other areas?
While Cal Poly sits in the top 25 for best salaries, it came up short in other WSJ rankings.
The university came in at No. 465 for student experience, which measures students’ satisfaction with campus facilities, community and social life and diversity on campus, according to student surveys distributed by the WSJ and College Pulse.
For social mobility, Cal Poly ranked at No. 343 — while Cal Poly Pomona was ranked at No. 10.
Both campuses ranked in the top 50 for best value.
According to the WSJ’s overall rankings, Cal Poly was considered the 48th best college in the nation.
It’s lowest-scoring metric in the overall ranking was diversity — where Cal Poly received a 46 out of 100.
The diversity metric accounted for 10% of the school’s overall score, and measured opportunities for students to interact with people of different backgrounds, percentage of ethnic diversity on campus, inclusion of students from low-income families and inclusion of students with disabilities.
Overall, its highest metric was salary impact, with a score of 92 out of 100.
The ranking comes after Cal Poly moved up in a separate Forbes ranking of best colleges in the nation, coming in at No. 57 of 500 public and private universities across the country.
This story was originally published September 14, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
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