25 colleges where graduates make the highest starting salaries

Let's face it. While there are many benefits of pursing higher education, many students do it to achieve better career prospects and better pay.

Not surprisingly, research universities dominate this list of schools whose graduates make the highest starting salaries, with colleges well-known for science and engineering programs at the top.

This reflects the reality that often it is your choice of major that will dictate a higher salary, and not necessary the choice of school, although some universities produce graduates of all majors who out-earn their peers.

The top schools on the list include Colorado School of Mines where graduates make an average starting salary of $66,400, followed closely by the United States Naval Academy with recent graduates who make salaries of $64,800. MIT takes the number three spot, with grads who make an average of $60,300 upon starting their careers.

Please note that this ranking is based simply on the average starting salaries of graduates and is not meant to be a reflection of the school's overall quality (although many of these colleges also rank highly in College Factual's best colleges nationwide ranking).

The salary number is the average starting salaries of all graduates with bachelor's degrees regardless of major, and was created with data from Payscale.

Colorado School of Mines, $66,400
United States Naval Academy, $64,800
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, $60,300
California Institute of Technology, $57,200
United States Military Academy, $55,400
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, $54,300
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, $53,900
Harvey Mudd College, $53,800
Stanford University, $53,700
Montana Tech of the University of Montana, $53,350
United States Air Force Academy, $53,150
Cornell University, $53,150
Massachusetts Maritime Academy, $53,100
University of Pennsylvania, $53,000
Missouri University of Science and Technology, $53,000
Princeton University, $52,700
Stevens Institute of Technology, $52,600
Milwaukee School of Engineering, $52,400
Columbia University in the City of New York, $51,900
Georgetown University, $51,700
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, $51,700
Polytechnic Institute of New York University, $51,600
SUNY Maritime College, $51,600
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, $51,300
Kettering University, $51,300