Harvard University came in at No. 1.Brian Snyder/Reuters
As it turns out, some programs offer a better return on your investment than others — and PayScale recently found which ones those are.
To identify the MBA programs from which graduates go on to earn the most money in their careers, PayScale, the creator of the world's largest compensation database, looked at the starting (five years of experience or less) and mid-career (10-plus years of job experience) pay for thousands of grads.
It recently released this data – along with other interesting findings — in its annual College Salary Report.
These are the 22 MBA programs from which graduates go on to earn the most money 10-plus years into their career, according to PayScale:
22. University of Notre Dame
Early career median pay: $94,000
Mid-career median pay: $149,000
Graduate enrollment: 3,731
20. (tie) University of Washington
Early career median pay: $94,800
Mid-career median pay: $150,000
Graduate enrollment: 14,112
20. (tie) Yale University
Early career median pay: $115,000
Mid-career median pay: $150,000
Graduate enrollment: 6,859
16. (tie) University of Virginia
Early career median pay: $114,000
Mid-career median pay: $151,000
Graduate enrollment: 7,249
16. (tie) Rice University
Early career median pay: $98,600
Mid-career median pay: $151,000
Graduate enrollment: 2,695
16. (tie) University of Michigan — Ann Arbor
Early career median pay: $110,000
Mid-career median pay: $151,000
Graduate enrollment: 15,230
16. (tie) Babson College
Early career median pay: $96,800
Mid-career median pay: $151,000
Graduate enrollment: 942
15. San Jose State University
Early career median pay: $76,000
Mid-career median pay: $153,000
Graduate enrollment: 6,049
13. (tie) Cornell University
Early career median pay: $117,000
Mid-career median pay: $154,000
Graduate enrollment: 7,397
13. (tie) University of California — Los Angeles
Early career median pay: $102,000
Mid-career median pay: $154,000
Graduate enrollment: 12,212
11. (tie) New York University
Early career median pay: $96,700
Mid-career median pay: $157,000
Graduate enrollment: 24,289
11. (tie) Emory University
Early career median pay: $99,600
Mid-career median pay: $157,000
Graduate enrollment: 6,940
10. Duke University
Early career median pay: $110,000
Mid-career median pay: $160,000
Graduate enrollment:9,230
9. Santa Clara University
Early career median pay: $83,400
Mid-career median pay: $164,000
Graduate enrollment: 3,529
8. Northwestern University
Early career median pay: $122,000
Mid-career median pay: $167,000
Graduate enrollment: 12,506
7. University of Chicago
Early career median pay: $112,000
Mid-career median pay: $172,000
Graduate enrollment: 9,359
6. University of California - Berkeley
Early career median pay: $130,000
Mid-career median pay: $174,000
Graduate enrollment: 10,439
5. Stanford University
Early career median pay: $121,000
Mid-career median pay: $176,000
Graduate enrollment: 9,944
4. University of Pennsylvania
Early career median pay: $125,000
Mid-career median pay: $181,000
Graduate enrollment: 13,258
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Early career median pay: $128,000
Mid-career median pay: $183,000
Graduate enrollment: 6,807
2. Columbia University
Early career median pay: $112,000
Mid-career median pay: $184,000
Graduate enrollment: 19,489
1. Harvard University
Early career median pay: $122,000
Mid-career median pay: $201,000
Graduate enrollment: 18,453
Find out how your salary stacks up on PayScale.
