Best Party Schools by Salary Potential
Want to party in undergraduate school but still end up in a high-paying job? Check out the top four-year party schools with the highest-paid graduates.
| Rank | School Name | School Type | Early Career Pay | Mid-Career Pay | % High Meaning | % STEM Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | School Name: Colgate University | School Type:Liberal Arts School, Party School, Private School, For Sports Fans | Early Career Pay:$84,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$173,800 | % High Meaning:42% | % STEM Degrees:26% |
| Rank:2 | School Name: Bucknell University | School Type:Liberal Arts School, Party School, Private School, For Sports Fans | Early Career Pay:$82,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$155,500 | % High Meaning:43% | % STEM Degrees:35% |
| Rank:3 | School Name: Union College (New York) | School Type:Liberal Arts School, Party School, Private School | Early Career Pay:$78,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$153,300 | % High Meaning:41% | % STEM Degrees:42% |
| Rank:4 | School Name:_50px.png) University of California-Santa Barbara | School Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$72,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$148,600 | % High Meaning:48% | % STEM Degrees:31% |
| Rank:5 | School Name: Wake Forest University | School Type:Party School, Private School, Research University, For Sports Fans | Early Career Pay:$74,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$145,200 | % High Meaning:40% | % STEM Degrees:16% |
| Rank:6 | School Name: Tulane University of Louisiana | School Type:Party School, Private School, Research University, For Sports Fans | Early Career Pay:$69,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$133,200 | % High Meaning:46% | % STEM Degrees:22% |
| Rank:7 | School Name: St Lawrence University | School Type:Liberal Arts School, Party School, Private School | Early Career Pay:$68,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$130,900 | % High Meaning:49% | % STEM Degrees:25% |
| Rank:8 | School Name: Syracuse University | School Type:Party School, Private School, Research University, For Sports Fans | Early Career Pay:$72,000 | Mid-Career Pay:$130,100 | % High Meaning:45% | % STEM Degrees:27% |
| Rank:9 | School Name: University of Delaware | School Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$71,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$127,600 | % High Meaning:46% | % STEM Degrees:24% |
| Rank:10 | School Name: University of Dayton | School Type:Party School, Private School, Religious, Research University, For Sports Fans | Early Career Pay:$70,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$127,300 | % High Meaning:44% | % STEM Degrees:32% |
| Rank:11 | School Name: - Main Campus_50px.png) University of Connecticut | School Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$73,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$126,000 | % High Meaning:46% | % STEM Degrees:27% |
| Rank:12 | School Name: - Madison_50px.png) University of Wisconsin-Madison | School Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$72,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$125,900 | % High Meaning:47% | % STEM Degrees:30% |
| Rank:13 | School Name: The University of the South | School Type:Liberal Arts School, Party School, Private School, Religious | Early Career Pay:$64,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$122,900 | % High Meaning:60% | % STEM Degrees:16% |
| Rank:14 | School Name:_50px.gif) University of Rhode Island | School Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$67,000 | Mid-Career Pay:$120,800 | % High Meaning:52% | % STEM Degrees:20% |
| Rank:15 | School Name: - Main Campus_50px.png) West Virginia University | School Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$65,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$118,200 | % High Meaning:54% | % STEM Degrees:22% |
| Rank:16 | School Name: The University of Alabama | School Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$65,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$113,100 | % High Meaning:50% | % STEM Degrees:17% |
| Rank:17 | School Name:_50px.png) Florida State University | School Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$62,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$111,900 | % High Meaning:48% | % STEM Degrees:17% |
| Rank:18 | School Name: University of Maine | School Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$65,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$110,400 | % High Meaning:50% | % STEM Degrees:21% |
| Rank:19 | School Name: Elon University | School Type:Party School, Private School, For Sports Fans | Early Career Pay:$66,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$110,100 | % High Meaning:44% | % STEM Degrees:7% |
| Rank:20 | School Name:_50px.png) Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus | School Type:Party School, Research University, State School | Early Career Pay:$57,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$100,800 | % High Meaning:50% | % STEM Degrees:7% |
Party schools may have a reputation for kegs, toga parties and a very active Greek system, but some of them actually produce some very highly paid graduates as well. This year Payscale’s list of the Party colleges with the highest-paid graduates includes notable schools like Penn State, Lehigh University and the University of Illinois.
PayScale gets its list of the top party schools from The Princeton Review. The Princeton Review’s defines party schools party schools as those with the highest percentage of students who said that alcohol and drugs are common on their campuses, that they don’t spend too many hours studying each day, and that fraternities and sororities are very active on campus.
Other famous party schools that made the list are Penn State, Bucknell University and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Almost every school in our list of party colleges with the highest-paid graduates has a strong Division 1 sports team. Fans of the University of Florida Gators or the University of Wisconsin Badgers throw great parties to cheer on their teams, but also go on to earn high salaries.