Apr 22, 2011 - Claremont, Calif. -

Harvey Mudd College grads receive an average $1.7 million return on their educational investment, according to data released this month by Bloomberg Businessweek and PayScale, an online salary information company.

This year the two organizations recalculated their Return on Investment Index for colleges nationwide to account for financial aid awards. HMC shifted up from last year’s No. 4 spot to the No. 2 spot, nestled between the California Institute of Technology and MIT. 

HMC’s upward move occurred despite an increase in the number of colleges ranked (693 schools, up from 554 last year) and a challenging economic climate of rising costs and diminishing wages.

Analysts collected data on college expenses--tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies--and multiplied those costs by the number of years it took 2010 graduates of each school to obtain their degrees. Their ROI calculations were based upon an average 1,000 pay reports per school, from alumni working full time in the United States who had received their bachelor’s degrees between 1981 and 2010.

Read the article on BusinessWeek.com