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Time magazine has developed a list of the top 100 universities in the country that offer the best return on investment for students and two South Carolina universities made the list.
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They are No. 71 The Citadel and No. 82 Clemson University, Time said.
Schools were ranked on student outcomes, learning environment and attractiveness to student and also given a final score.
The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, ranked 81.45 overall, 85.50 for student outcomes, 62.81 for learning environment and 79 for attractiveness.
Clemson ranked 80.03 overall, 89.10 for student outcomes, 30,10 for learning environment and 86.92 for attractiveness.
The highest ranked university was Stanford in Palo Alto, California, with an overall score of 96.36, 95.21 for student outcomes, 99.82 for learning environment and 99.82 on attractiveness.
“Schools with historically strong STEM programs — and pipelines into high-paying tech jobs — rank high on the list, like research universities Stanford (no. 1), known for its startup culture and connection to Silicon Valley, and MIT (no. 2), a patent powerhouse,” Time said.
“As jobs have become more technological, job markets have become more competitive, and the costs of tuition have risen, college students are increasingly considering the ROI of their education, or how efficiently it can be used to acquire a high-paying job post-grad,” the magazine said.
To formulate the ranking Time partnered with Statista, a global data gathering company that started in Germany and with its U.S. office in New York City.
Time quoted Brown University professor John Friedman as saying, “We need to be more outcome-oriented, more career-oriented when we think about what we’re recommending for students in higher ed.”
The National Science Foundation said STEM education is important because the workforce grew by 26% between 2013 and 2023 compared to the non-STEM workforce of 9%.
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Time said science and engineering degrees reached record highs from 2021 to 2023.
“Of course, studying science and engineering is not the only option for students to get the most out of their post-secondary education,” Time said, calling out Claremont McKenna (no. 9), part of the same liberal arts college consortium as Harvey Mudd (No. 3) for a range of non-STEM majors.
The Citadel
This fall’s incoming class of 750 at The Citadel included the largest number of women, 119 and about 25 percent of the new students had a family member who studied there.
The Charleston school also has a new president, Frank McKenzie, a retired US Marine Corps general and Citadel alum.
“What you’re going to get here is not only a world-class education that prepares you for the future, you’re going to get grounded in leadership,” McKenzie recently told incoming students. “You’re going to leave here knowing how to gather a group of people around you, how to talk about an idea, how to create something tangible from the idea and, with them, pursue that goal.”
Among his priorities are to offer studies in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and computing.
The Citadel was the ranked No. 1 school in the South by U.S. News and World Report. The most popular majors are Business, Engineering and Military Science. A third of graduates go into the military.
Clemson
Clemson University earned praise in August from Princeton Review for student experience, school spirit and student happiness, plus a strong connection with the local community.
In addition, Clemson’s Center for Career and Professional Development presented by Michelin ranked in the top 10 for Best Career Services and No. 24 for Best College Library.
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The most popular majors are business and engineering.
Other top-ranked schools
The other top 10 schools on Time’s list were:
3. Harvey Mudd, Claremont, California
4. Princeton, Princeton, New Jersey
5. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
6. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
7. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
8. Columbia University, New York, New York
9. Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, California
10. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts