by Matt Schifrin and Liyan Chen
Which colleges provide the best return on investment? Huge amounts of resources are expended annually by colleges, private research firms , media outlets and even the federal government to give prospective students and parents a quantifiable measure of colleges worth. Forbes has a simple alternative ROI measure called the Grateful Graduates Index which ranks colleges by the median amount of private donations per student over a 10-year period.
The idea is that the best colleges are the ones that produce successful people who make enough money during their careers to be charitable, and feel compelled to give back to their Alma mater. In many ways the private not-for-profit college business model is all about admitting and producing the best crop of future donors. In order to level the playing field for colleges that produce lots of grateful grads in lower paying fields like education, academia or government service, we also factor in 3-year alumni participation rates, which show the percentage of alumni who donate each year regardless of the amount. In other word, we let alumni dollars and devotion determine successful college outcomes.
You will note that some small liberal arts bastions like Minnesota’s Carleton College, which has an impressive 46% of alums contributing and an median donation amount of $14,876 rank much higher on our ROI scale than esteemed institutions like Harvard. It has an impressive $25,122 median donation per student but only ranks 24th because it has many more ungrateful grads. Only 18.6% of its alums give back annually. Our Grateful Grads rankings, which does not include public institutions, can be found on the accompanying table.
Once again this year two of the smaller Ivy League institutions, Princeton University and Dartmouth College top our list. It would appear that colleges with smaller class sizes and more intimate educational experiences are a key factor in producing successful happy alums. Many smaller liberal arts colleges like Amherst College , Williams , Wellesley and Haverford College score impressively on both factors. Some surprising top schools with an abundance of ungrateful graduates on our list include Columbia University, ranked 28th, Carnegie Mellon ranked 51nd, New York University ranked 101st and New Orlean’s Tulane University ranked 128th.
Reporting by Corinne Jurney and Tina Russo
| Rank | School | 10-Yr Median Donation |
Avg Alum Part |
GG Index |
| 1 | Princeton University | $29,330 | 46% | 100 |
| 2 | Dartmouth College | $27,464 | 43% | 99.99 |
| 3 | Williams College | $22,891 | 52% | 99.88 |
| 4 | Bowdoin College | $22,121 | 45% | 99.83 |
| 5 | Amherst College | $20,866 | 48% | 99.67 |
| 6 | Claremont McKenna College | $23,276 | 41% | 99.28 |
| 7 | Davidson College | $18,187 | 48% | 98.77 |
| 8 | Wellesley College | $17,451 | 49% | 98.23 |
| 9 | Haverford College | $15,182 | 42% | 94.77 |
| 10 | University of Notre Dame | $16,840 | 36% | 94.28 |
| 11 | Carleton College | $14,876 | 46% | 93.98 |
| 12 | Washington and Lee University | $16,255 | 36% | 93.45 |
| 13 | Duke University | $30,725 | 28% | 91.98 |
| 14 | Yale University | $30,154 | 28% | 91.86 |
| 15 | Stanford University | $30,826 | 28% | 91.76 |
| 16 | Brown University | $22,542 | 28% | 91.4 |
| 17 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | $42,136 | 24% | 89.6 |
| 18 | Bryn Mawr College | $16,272 | 29% | 89.52 |
| 19 | University of Chicago | $20,484 | 23% | 88.35 |
| 20 | Swarthmore College | $13,671 | 38% | 87.66 |
| 21 | Middlebury College | $14,033 | 35% | 87.15 |
| 22 | University of Pennsylvania | $17,734 | 22% | 86.88 |
| 23 | California Institute of Technology | $53,845 | 19% | 86.22 |
| 24 | Harvard University | $25,122 | 19% | 86.14 |
| 25 | Rice University | $15,806 | 24% | 85.32 |
| 26 | Pomona College | $13,118 | 37% | 84.13 |
| 27 | Washington University in St. Louis | $15,221 | 21% | 82.59 |
| 28 | Columbia University | $20,708 | 13% | 82.45 |
| 29 | Vassar College | $13,813 | 28% | 82.24 |
| 30 | Johns Hopkins University | $23,707 | 12% | 82.02 |
| 31 | Northwestern University | $15,494 | 15% | 79.68 |
| 32 | University of Southern California | $13,560 | 25% | 78.88 |
| 33 | Colby College | $12,092 | 38% | 78.44 |
| 34 | University of Rochester | $14,527 | 15% | 77.18 |
| 35 | Trinity College | $12,772 | 28% | 76.82 |
| 36 | Vanderbilt University | $13,430 | 19% | 75.1 |
| 37 | Berea College | $13,878 | 15% | 74.79 |
| 38 | Cornell University | $13,262 | 19% | 74.18 |
| 39 | Hamilton College | $11,158 | 41% | 72.95 |
| 40 | Colgate University | $11,075 | 40% | 71.6 |
| 41 | Reed College | $12,089 | 25% | 70.58 |
| 42 | Kenyon College | $11,206 | 36% | 69.81 |
| 43 | Smith College | $11,555 | 28% | 68.15 |
| 44 | Mills College | $12,211 | 15% | 65.05 |
| 45 | Wake Forest University | $11,702 | 20% | 64.82 |
| 46 | Brandeis University | $11,483 | 20% | 63.04 |
| 47 | Case Western Reserve University | $11,767 | 15% | 61.8 |
| 48 | University of Tulsa | $11,679 | 16% | 61.73 |
| 49 | Yeshiva University | $11,513 | 10% | 56.95 |
| 50 | Wesleyan University | $9,594 | 38% | 56.33 |
For Grateful Grads 51 to 150, please go to the next page.
| Rank | School | 10-Yr Median Donation |
Avg Alum Part |
GG Index |
| 51 | Carnegie Mellon University | $10,771 | 16% | 54.18 |
| 52 | Sewanee-The University of the South | $9,646 | 29% | 51.61 |
| 53 | Whitman College | $9,223 | 35% | 51.48 |
| 54 | Oberlin College | $9,740 | 27% | 51.46 |
| 55 | University of Miami | $10,336 | 13% | 48.38 |
| 56 | Wofford College | $9,425 | 21% | 44.66 |
| 57 | Lafayette College | $8,549 | 33% | 44.01 |
| 58 | Hampden-Sydney College | $8,383 | 32% | 42.04 |
| 59 | College of the Holy Cross | $7,543 | 47% | 41.98 |
| 60 | Centre College | $7,555 | 41% | 41.56 |
| 61 | DePauw University | $8,580 | 27% | 40.68 |
| 62 | Mount Holyoke College | $8,418 | 27% | 39.31 |
| 63 | Lawrence University | $8,160 | 27% | 37.75 |
| 64 | Westmont College | $8,904 | 17% | 37.7 |
| 65 | Connecticut College | $8,212 | 26% | 37.63 |
| 66 | Bates College | $6,586 | 46% | 36.51 |
| 67 | Randolph-Macon College | $6,885 | 37% | 35.41 |
| 68 | John Brown University | $8,897 | 12% | 34.85 |
| 69 | The College of Wooster | $8,255 | 21% | 34.4 |
| 70 | Emory University | $8,700 | 14% | 34.29 |
| 71 | Wheaton College | $7,914 | 22% | 32.48 |
| 72 | Franklin and Marshall College | $7,582 | 25% | 32.46 |
| 73 | Tufts University | $8,210 | 18% | 32.44 |
| 74 | University of Dubuque | $8,680 | 10% | 31.69 |
| 75 | Beloit College | $7,947 | 19% | 31.16 |
| 76 | St Lawrence University | $7,435 | 23% | 30.29 |
| 77 | Knox College | $6,869 | 29% | 30.15 |
| 78 | Rhodes College | $6,127 | 34% | 29.83 |
| 79 | Macalester College | $6,440 | 31% | 29.6 |
| 80 | Transylvania University | $4,599 | 41% | 29.24 |
| 81 | Occidental College | $7,372 | 21% | 28.18 |
| 82 | Skidmore College | $6,780 | 25% | 27.43 |
| 83 | Bucknell University | $6,425 | 28% | 27.37 |
| 84 | Saint Mary's College | $6,319 | 27% | 26.52 |
| 85 | Southwestern University | $7,322 | 18% | 26.35 |
| 86 | Grinnell College | $5,627 | 31% | 26.21 |
| 87 | Denison University | $7,246 | 18% | 26.13 |
| 88 | Furman University | $6,805 | 22% | 25.96 |
| 89 | Spelman College | $4,764 | 35% | 25.94 |
| 90 | Hendrix College | $6,880 | 21% | 25.61 |
| 90 | Birmingham Southern College | $6,484 | 24% | 25.61 |
| 92 | Catawba College | $7,242 | 17% | 25.55 |
| 93 | Hobart William Smith Colleges | $5,834 | 28% | 25.31 |
| 94 | Augustana College | $6,095 | 27% | 25.24 |
| 95 | Wheaton College | $6,789 | 21% | 24.82 |
| 96 | Lehigh University | $6,966 | 17% | 23.9 |
| 97 | Dickinson College | $5,620 | 27% | 23.89 |
| 98 | Boston College | $6,559 | 20% | 23.56 |
| 99 | Earlham College | $6,695 | 19% | 23.54 |
| 100 | The College of Idaho | $2,393 | 36% | 23.21 |
| Rank | School | 10-Yr Median Donation |
Avg Alum Part |
GG Index |
| 101 | New York University | $7,751 | 6% | 22.25 |
| 102 | Austin College | $6,998 | 13% | 21.61 |
| 103 | Sarah Lawrence College | $6,809 | 14% | 21.27 |
| 104 | Cornell College | $5,700 | 22% | 20.82 |
| 105 | Saint Johns University | $5,640 | 22% | 20.6 |
| 106 | Ohio Wesleyan University | $6,308 | 17% | 20.37 |
| 107 | Queens University of Charlotte | $5,196 | 24% | 20.33 |
| 108 | Juniata College | $3,615 | 27% | 19.18 |
| 109 | Maryville College | $4,648 | 23% | 18.83 |
| 110 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | $4,097 | 25% | 18.43 |
| 111 | Saint Vincent College | $5,442 | 19% | 18.15 |
| 112 | Lake Forest College | $5,485 | 18% | 18.08 |
| 113 | Emmanuel College | $1,636 | 28% | 17.96 |
| 114 | St Olaf College | $4,734 | 21% | 17.43 |
| 115 | Allegheny College | $4,701 | 21% | 17.35 |
| 116 | Washington College | $5,821 | 15% | 17.32 |
| 117 | Calvin College | $5,076 | 19% | 17.13 |
| 118 | Pitzer College | $5,024 | 19% | 17.07 |
| 119 | Gettysburg College | $3,721 | 23% | 16.95 |
| 120 | University of Richmond | $5,159 | 18% | 16.82 |
| 121 | Ursinus College | $5,269 | 17% | 16.78 |
| 122 | Valparaiso University | $6,324 | 11% | 16.68 |
| 123 | Colorado College | $5,146 | 17% | 16.57 |
| 124 | Hope College | $4,064 | 21% | 16.15 |
| 124 | Gustavus Adolphus College | $3,288 | 23% | 16.15 |
| 126 | Coe College | $4,112 | 21% | 16.07 |
| 127 | Washington & Jefferson College | $5,149 | 17% | 16.03 |
| 128 | Tulane University of Louisiana | $6,206 | 10% | 15.94 |
| 129 | Creighton University | $5,638 | 14% | 15.89 |
| 130 | Illinois Wesleyan University | $3,717 | 21% | 15.85 |
| 131 | Mount St Mary's University | $3,210 | 22% | 15.83 |
| 132 | Salem College | $4,082 | 20% | 15.64 |
| 133 | Trinity University | $5,753 | 13% | 15.59 |
| 134 | Alma College | $3,029 | 22% | 15.53 |
| 135 | Texas Christian University | $4,662 | 18% | 15.52 |
| 136 | Luther College | $3,474 | 21% | 15.34 |
| 137 | Whittier College | $3,188 | 21% | 14.91 |
| 138 | Morningside College | $3,625 | 19% | 14.65 |
| 139 | Albion College | $3,877 | 19% | 14.45 |
| 140 | Manchester College | $4,300 | 17% | 14.38 |
| 141 | Dordt College | $3,631 | 19% | 14.32 |
| 142 | Heidelberg University | $3,767 | 19% | 14.28 |
| 143 | Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College | $3,053 | 20% | 14.24 |
| 144 | Elizabethtown College | $2,063 | 21% | 14.19 |
| 145 | Berry College | $4,640 | 15% | 14.03 |
| 146 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | $5,978 | 9% | 14.02 |
| 146 | Drew University | $3,165 | 19% | 14.02 |
| 148 | Georgetown University | $4,589 | 15% | 13.98 |
| 149 | Northwestern College | $2,986 | 20% | 13.92 |
| 150 | Roanoke College | $3,224 | 19% | 13.79 |
