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.

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Bachelor's Only
All Alumni
RankSchool NameSchool TypeEarly Career Pay
Mid-Career Pay
% High Meaning
% STEM Degrees
Rank:1School Name:Colgate UniversitySchool Type:Liberal Arts School, Party School, Private School, For Sports FansEarly Career Pay:$84,100Mid-Career Pay:$173,800% High Meaning:42%% STEM Degrees:26%
Rank:2School Name:Bucknell UniversitySchool Type:Liberal Arts School, Party School, Private School, For Sports FansEarly Career Pay:$82,400Mid-Career Pay:$155,500% High Meaning:43%% STEM Degrees:35%
Rank:3School Name:Union College (New York)School Type:Liberal Arts School, Party School, Private SchoolEarly Career Pay:$78,500Mid-Career Pay:$153,300% High Meaning:41%% STEM Degrees:42%
Rank:4School Name:University of California-Santa BarbaraSchool Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$72,700Mid-Career Pay:$148,600% High Meaning:48%% STEM Degrees:31%
Rank:5School Name:Wake Forest UniversitySchool Type:Party School, Private School, Research University, For Sports FansEarly Career Pay:$74,100Mid-Career Pay:$145,200% High Meaning:40%% STEM Degrees:16%
Rank:6School Name:Tulane University of LouisianaSchool Type:Party School, Private School, Research University, For Sports FansEarly Career Pay:$69,600Mid-Career Pay:$133,200% High Meaning:46%% STEM Degrees:22%
Rank:7School Name:St Lawrence UniversitySchool Type:Liberal Arts School, Party School, Private SchoolEarly Career Pay:$68,700Mid-Career Pay:$130,900% High Meaning:49%% STEM Degrees:25%
Rank:8School Name:Syracuse UniversitySchool Type:Party School, Private School, Research University, For Sports FansEarly Career Pay:$72,000Mid-Career Pay:$130,100% High Meaning:45%% STEM Degrees:27%
Rank:9School Name:University of DelawareSchool Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$71,600Mid-Career Pay:$127,600% High Meaning:46%% STEM Degrees:24%
Rank:10School Name:University of DaytonSchool Type:Party School, Private School, Religious, Research University, For Sports FansEarly Career Pay:$70,400Mid-Career Pay:$127,300% High Meaning:44%% STEM Degrees:32%
Rank:11School Name:University of ConnecticutSchool Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$73,800Mid-Career Pay:$126,000% High Meaning:46%% STEM Degrees:27%
Rank:12School Name:University of Wisconsin-MadisonSchool Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$72,300Mid-Career Pay:$125,900% High Meaning:47%% STEM Degrees:30%
Rank:13School Name:The University of the SouthSchool Type:Liberal Arts School, Party School, Private School, ReligiousEarly Career Pay:$64,900Mid-Career Pay:$122,900% High Meaning:60%% STEM Degrees:16%
Rank:14School Name:University of Rhode IslandSchool Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$67,000Mid-Career Pay:$120,800% High Meaning:52%% STEM Degrees:20%
Rank:15School Name:West Virginia UniversitySchool Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$65,900Mid-Career Pay:$118,200% High Meaning:54%% STEM Degrees:22%
Rank:16School Name:The University of AlabamaSchool Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$65,600Mid-Career Pay:$113,100% High Meaning:50%% STEM Degrees:17%
Rank:17School Name:Florida State UniversitySchool Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$62,500Mid-Career Pay:$111,900% High Meaning:48%% STEM Degrees:17%
Rank:18School Name:University of MaineSchool Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$65,800Mid-Career Pay:$110,400% High Meaning:50%% STEM Degrees:21%
Rank:19School Name:Elon UniversitySchool Type:Party School, Private School, For Sports FansEarly Career Pay:$66,400Mid-Career Pay:$110,100% High Meaning:44%% STEM Degrees:7%
Rank:20School Name:Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main CampusSchool Type:Party School, Research University, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$57,600Mid-Career Pay:$100,800% High Meaning:50%% STEM Degrees:7%

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College Student

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.