Top 5 Sober Schools by Salary Potential

If you’re more interesting in studying hard than partying hearty, you probably don’t care about finding a college with a robust Greek life or lot of keggers to choose from on any given weekend. This year’s College Salary Report offers a complete list of the top-earning sober schools.

(Photo Credit: Ken Lund/Flickr)

PayScale used The Princeton Review‘s criteria to define sober schools, which means that these colleges and universities may or may not ban alcohol or drugs use on their campuses, but their emphasis on academics, combined with cultural factors like religious or military affiliation, qualifies them for a place on this list.

Military schools head the list for high-earning graduates, but religious institutions like Brigham Young University also made a good showing, as did commuter schools like CUNY City College. The following are the five sober schools with the highest-earning grads:

1. United States Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapolis

Early Career Salary: $80,700

Mid-Career Salary: $130,000

High Meaning: 59 percent

STEM Degrees: 54 percent

2. United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point

Early Career Salary: $75,100

Mid-Career Salary: $123,900

High Meaning: 57 percent

STEM Degrees: 39 percent

3. Brigham Young University (BYU)

Early Career Salary: $51,800

Mid-Career Salary: $93,000

High Meaning: 59 percent

STEM Degrees: 20 percent

4. CUNY – City College

Early Career Salary: $52,500

Mid-Career Salary: $86,300

High Meaning: 60 percent

STEM Degrees: 30 percent

5. University of Houston (UH)

Early Career Salary: $51,600

Mid-Career Salary: $85,400

High Meaning: 55 percent

STEM Degrees: 17 percent

Tell Us What You Think

What were the deciding factors in your choice of school? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.