25. Bowdoin College
Location: Brunswick, Maine
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $54,800
Ranked 21st best college in America.
At Bowdoin College, the second-ranked liberal-arts school on our list, first-year students can choose from 35 first-year seminars and are required to take a course in each of five general subject areas. As for postgraduation, Bowdoin's 1,500-member alumni Career Advisory Network helps prepare students for their future careers.
24. University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $57,900
Ranked 12th best college in America.
Known for a stellar undergraduate business school, the University of Michigan counts business, psychology, and economics as its most popular majors. UM also reports that about half of all students who received a bachelor's degree go on to pursue a master's within four years of graduation. The school's notable alumni include New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Google cofounder Larry Page.
23. University of Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $58,600
Ranked ninth best college in America.
The highest-ranked public school on our list, the University of Virginia was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819. UVA first-year students can choose from four undergraduate schools: arts and sciences, architecture, engineering, or nursing. UVA also has a "work hard, play hard" mentality. The university boasts more than 600 student clubs and 25 varsity sports.
22. University of California at Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $59,200
Ranked 19th best college in America.
Over the past 100 years, the University of California at Los Angeles has produced 13 Nobel laureates, 12 MacArthur Fellows, and a host of athletes who have won more than 250 Olympic medals combined. UCLA has made an impact in the business world as well, with more than 140 companies originating from technology developed at the school.
21. Brown University
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $59,700
Ranked 20th best college in America.
Brown students have the freedom to personalize their liberal-arts course study, a practice the school calls "open curriculum." Brown was founded in 1764 on the then-unprecedented idea of accepting students regardless of religion. It was also the first Ivy League school to establish an undergraduate engineering program in 1847.
20. Rice University
Location: Houston
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $59,900
Ranked eighth best college in America.
Rice University is home to pioneering applied sciences programs, including nationally recognized nanotechnology and biomedical engineering departments. The only Texas college on our list was founded in 1912 and is the youngest of the 10 best colleges.
19. Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $60,900
Ranked fifth best college in America.
American business and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt established his namesake university in 1873. Since then, Vanderbilt's high-ranking undergraduate program has produced hundreds of notable alumni, including two NASA astronauts, best-selling novelist James Patterson, and Ann Moore, the first female CEO of Time Inc.
18. Colgate University
Location: Hamilton, New York
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $61,500
Ranked 18th best college in America.
Colgate University boasts a student-to-faculty ratio of nine to one, allowing its students to work closely with the school's distinguished professors. The school offers more than 20 off-campus study groups — a study-abroad-like experience in which Colgate faculty lead a course at an international institution. Also focused on sustainability, Colgate pledged to diminish its carbon footprint and become "climate neutral" by 2019.
17. Washington University in St. Louis
Location: St. Louis
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $62,300
Ranked 17th best college in America.
Each year, Washington University supports more than 3,000 research projects, ranging from medical and health to innovation and entrepreneurship. The majority of WashU's more than 6,800 undergraduates study in the arts and sciences school, while nearly 1,000 students enroll in the university's high-ranking undergraduate business program at Olin Business School.
16. University of California at Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, California
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $62,700
Ranked 14th best college in America.
UC Berkeley came in as the third-best public university on the list and is the oldest of the 10 University of California research colleges. The school is a top academic institution and an athletic powerhouse. The Cal Bears have an unmistakable presence at the Olympics, sending 16 student-athletes to compete for Team USA in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Before this year's games, Berkeley students and alumni had won a combined 103 gold medals.
15. University of Chicago
Location: Chicago
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $62,800
Ranked 23rd best college in America.
Since oil magnate John D. Rockefeller founded the University of Chicago in 1890, the private school has established a global presence with international centers in Beijing, New Delhi, Paris, and Hong Kong. UChicago's undergraduate program is recognized for preparing students to continue on to graduate school, with more than 15% of undergraduates eventually earning a Ph.D.
14. Northwestern University
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $64,100
Ranked 25th best college in America.
With more than 500 clubs and organizations to join, including a capella groups and the student-run newspaper, there's no shortage of ways for Northwestern students to get involved on campus. On the academic side, Northwestern sponsors several opportunities for innovation, including two startup incubators and a certificate program in entrepreneurship specifically targeted at undergraduates.
13. Yale University
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $66,000
Ranked third best college in America.
The second-oldest Ivy League school, Yale aims to provide students with a strong liberal-arts education. Its undergraduate college puts an emphasis on four areas — arts, sciences, international studies, and writing — and offers more than 70 majors, including astronomy, theater studies, and economics. It's also one of the hardest schools to get into, with an acceptance rate of just 6%.
12. University of Southern California
Location: Los Angeles
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $66,100
Ranked 24th best college in America.
Students who attend the University of Southern California will have the opportunity learn from professors who are Nobel laureates, National Academy members, and MacArthur Fellows. USC is dedicated to helping its students make the most of their education. Its Renaissance Ideal gives students the flexibility to put together a program for their majors and minors suited to their needs.
11. University of Notre Dame
Location: South Bend, Indiana
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $69,400
Ranked 13th best college in America.
University of Notre Dame students become part of a storied history, where carrying on school traditions is a built-in part of the experience: Pep rallies, homemade-boat races, and masses at chapel are among the activities available during students' four years on campus. Graduates join the ranks of notable alumni who came before them, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, and author Nicholas Sparks.
10. Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $70,900
Ranked 15th best college in America.
The Ivy League school located in upstate New York was the first to establish a four-year hotel-administration school, and it was the first university in the US to offer an American studies program. Big Red, as it is nicknamed, offers nearly 80 majors including engineering, architecture, and agricultural sciences. Its College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is the second-largest undergraduate college at the university.
9. Columbia University
Location: New York City
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $72,900
Ranked 10th best college in America.
The oldest university in the state, Columbia called several locations across New York City home after its founding in 1754 — including a schoolhouse adjacent to Trinity Church in the financial district and a 40-year occupation in Midtown — before settling into its iconic campus on 116th Street. Students who wish to continue their education past their undergraduate years can look to Columbia's renowned graduate programs in business, law, and journalism.
8. Princeton University
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $75,100
Ranked best college in America.
Princeton has trained a barrage of successful graduates, including 15 Nobel Prize winners, 10 National Humanities Medal winners, and 21 National Medal of Science winners. The prestigious Ivy League institution also counts President John F. Kennedy, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and author F. Scott Fitzgerald among its many distinguished alumni.
7. Duke University
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $76,700
Ranked 16th best college in America.
Duke University places an emphasis on research, providing students with numerous avenues to pursue projects through research grants, travel opportunities, and apprenticeships with distinguished professors — and more than half of its undergraduates take advantage. Upon graduation, Duke students join the ranks of notable alumni such as Melinda Gates, Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson, and former "Nightline" anchor Dan Abrams.
6. Washington and Lee University
Location: Lexington, Virginia
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $77,600
Ranked 22nd best college in America.
Named for two significant figures in American history — President George Washington and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee — Washington and Lee is steeped in traditions, including the school's honor code, which allows students such freedoms as scheduling their own exams and taking them without supervision. The school is centered on liberal arts, and it offers 37 majors, including studio art, journalism, and philosophy.
5. University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $78,200
Ranked seventh best college in America.
Founded in 1740, the University of Pennsylvania stands as one of the most selective schools in the US, accepting just 10.2% of applicants. During their time at UPenn, students can take advantage of the school's vast resources, including 6.38 million books, 1.16 million e-books, and 136 research centers and institutes, which are accompanied by an annual research budget of $878 million to boot.
4. Stanford University
Location: Stanford, California
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $80,900
Ranked fourth best college in America.
Known for the proliferation of technology companies spurred from students' time on campus, Stanford boasts top-notch computer science and engineering programs, with specialties offered in areas like atmosphere and energy as well as biomedical computation. The school's four-to-one ratio of students to teachers ensures that every student interacts closely with professors and receives personal attention.
3. Georgetown University
Location: Washington, D.C.
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $83,300
Ranked 11th best college in America.
The founding of Georgetown's undergraduate program in 1789 makes it the oldest Catholic and Jesuit college in the US. Rooted in a traditional liberal-arts curriculum, the private university is a cornerstone of Washington, D.C., and has produced a laundry list of accomplished alumni, including President Bill Clinton, who was class president during his freshman and sophomore years at Georgetown but lost his bid for student-body president.
2. Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $87,200
Ranked second best college in America.
Synonymous with prestige since its founding 380 years ago, Harvard University remains one of the most respected schools in the world — and a degree from the college reflects that. Though Harvard's annual tuition (including fees and room and board) is a steep $60,659, nearly 70% of students receive some type of financial aid — thanks to the school's $37.6 billion endowment — trimming the average student's annual net cost to just over $14,000.
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Median salary 10 years after enrolling: $91,600
Ranked sixth best college in America.
The country's most renowned engineering school, MIT sees 22% of undergraduates go on to pursue jobs in the field. Graduates secure positions at tech powerhouses such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Oracle. Even more impressive, the MIT community includes 85 Nobel laureates, 58 National Medal of Science winners, and 29 National Medal of Technology and Innovation winners.