The continuously rising costs of an already expensive college education, combined with a still-slumping economy, make the return on investment (ROI) that students get from attending one business school over another more important than ever. As parents and college applicants who want to major in business sit down to decide where to go, they have to consider many things—from the quality of the education they'll receive and the doors it will open to the campus culture and dorms. But when you could be investing upwards of $100,000 and possibly taking on a load of debt that will haunt you for years, you better be certain that this education will help you afford a decent life after graduation. You should be asking, "What's in it for me?"
Recently, Bloomberg BusinessWeek asked that question for you and ranked undergraduate business programs at both private and public universities based on their return on investment. By comparing annual tuition spent and the median base salary students receive at graduation, we were able to determine which programs are the best values. Of course, value is very much in the eye of the beholder, and any ranking, including this one, must be just one part of the decision-making process. Low costs and big salaries are great, but not if the school has a tough time placing graduates, classes take place in packed lecture halls, and faculty office hours are nonexistent. Buyer beware.
Not surprisingly, in general, public schools are more affordable than private ones. But there are bargains in both categories and they run the gamut—from big urban universities to small rural colleges, from top-tier programs in Bloomberg BusinessWeek's latest ranking to schools that appear at the very bottom of the list.
When many people think of Florida, they think of Mickey Mouse or partying at South Beach, not exactly the place to go if you want to grow up and make something of yourself. But the top four undergraduate business programs in the ROI ranking of public schools are all in the Sunshine State: University of Central Florida (Central Florida Undergraduate Profile) in Orlando; University of Florida (Florida Undergraduate Profile) in Gainesville; Florida International (Florida International Undergraduate Profile) in Miami; and Florida State (Florida State Undergraduate Profile) in Tallahassee. At the University of Central Florida, graduates earn $11.70 per annual tuition dollar. The other Florida schools aren't far behind, with none falling below the $10 mark. Rounding out the top five is the Kenan-Flagler Business School (Kenan-Flagler Undergraduate Profile) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, whose graduates earn $9.78 per annual tuition dollar.
While all five schools represent great value, it's worth noting that none of the Florida schools broke into the top 50 in Bloomberg BusinessWeek's ranking of undergraduate business programs—in fact, two of them, Florida International and Central Florida, ranked near or at the very bottom: 107 and 111, respectively. Kenan-Flagler, meanwhile, came in at a very respectable No. 14.
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