Editor’s note: The story was updated on March 13 to include comments from an Oberlin spokesman.
Making the right choice for college can be a life-changing decision for a high school graduate.
They attend college hoping to get an education and, one day, get a return on their investment.
A Blade review of U.S. Department of Education data found that the most expensive college isn’t necessarily the best option for students when it comes to earning a decent salary in the professional sphere.
The University of Toledo performed well among northwest Ohio’s public universities when comparing the annual cost to attend and earning potential after graduation. The average annual cost to attend for federal financial aid recipients was $23,464, and 10 years after they entered college, the median income of students who received financial aid was $43,800 a year.
The cost to attend Bowling Green State University was effectively the same as UT at $23,423 per year, while students boasted an annual salary of $40,500 a decade after beginning school there.
But northwest Ohio’s best-performing institution was Mercy College of Ohio. With an average annual salary of $51,100, Mercy students earned the eighth-highest salary in the state while maintaining a relatively low average annual cost, at $22,730.
The position of Mercy College and other nursing schools across the state is a reflection of the booming health industry. Ninety-seven percent of Mercy’s students study health professions and related programs.
The health-care industry added 368,000 jobs over the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The industry’s growth might explain why seven of the eight Ohio higher education institutions whose students have the highest earnings after graduation are health-care and nursing-specific schools.
“The value that we have is first and foremost, the fact that we are focused in health care,” said Lori Edgeworth, Mercy College of Ohio’s vice president for strategic planning and enrollment.
“Health care continues to be one of the leaders in job creation. ... So when you’re an institution that focuses on health care, it’s definitely to your advantage.”
The average annual cost of attendance, as analyzed by The Blade, includes tuition and fees, books and supplies, and living expenses for full-time undergraduates.
The “salary after attending” was calculated by taking the median earnings of former students 10 years after enrolling in school.
UT students boasted the fourth-highest earnings out of Ohio’s public universities.
“We certainly work very, very hard to keep costs low and maximize the value a student can have here,” said Jim Anderson, UT’s vice president of enrollment management.
A student’s salary is influenced by their major, which could explain why UT students’ average earnings are higher than most other public universities. At UT, 19 percent of students received a health-related degree or certificate, 18 percent received a business-related degree or certificate, and 13 percent received an engineering degree or certificate.
“This is one of the very few universities that’s truly comprehensive,” Mr. Anderson said. “That’s an important piece; that we have a diversity of programs,” he said making specific mention to the UT’s law school, medical school, and business school.
Some private schools have a high annual cost with a relatively low payoff after graduation. Oberlin College cost $66,870 — the highest in the state — and the median salary for its graduates after 10 years was $40,800.
Scott Wargo, an Oberlin spokesman, said the data does not accurately represent the value of the school’s education.
“[The data] seems to want to imply that college choice dictates career choice (and, by association, earning potential), and this is absolutely false,” Mr. Wargo said in an email.
“Our average salary isn’t lower because our alumni don’t have the option to go make a lot of money; rather, many choose to go into education, service, non-profit work, etc.”
Case Western Reserve University cost $61,371, but its students netted the highest salary in the state. In fact, with an average salary of $74,600, Case Western student’s earned $10,000 more than Ohio’s second highest earning institution.
Community colleges were the most affordable institutions, but their students also earned less than students attending four-year public and private schools.
But the value of a community college can’t be measured solely on numbers, said Owens Community College President Steve Robinson.
“Sometimes we automatically equate value with a dollar amount. They are related but when you take a look at what you ‘get’ for your tuition dollars at a community college; your tuition dollars are really going far in my view.”
At Ohio State University and its branch campuses, its students had the second highest earnings out of the state’s public universities with a salary of $46,100.
In Michigan, graduates from Kettering — a private engineering school in Flint — grossed the highest median salary in the state: $80,500.
At the University of Michigan and its branch campuses, students had the third highest earnings in the state with an annual median salary of $63,400.
First Published March 11, 2019, 4:33 p.m.
