These results are using a sample of graduates who only obtained a bachelor's degree and no higher degree. The ROI dollar amount is the *difference* in income between graduates and non-graduates. (See methodology note at link above.)
As noted by commenters, the results don't really isolate the value added by the university -- for that to be the case one would, at minimum, have to control for SAT or IQ score. See here for earlier discussion. The total earnings are almost a proxy for student quality -- I bet these rankings correlate very highly with average SAT score of the school.
Rank
School Name
School Type
Average Cost for College in 2009
30 Year ROI (2010 Dollars)
Annual ROI
1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Private
$189,300
$1,688,000
12.6%
2
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Private
$181,100
$1,644,000
12.6%
3
Harvard University
Private
$189,600
$1,631,000
12.5%
4
Harvey Mudd College
Private
$187,700
$1,627,000
12.5%
5
Dartmouth College
Private
$188,400
$1,587,000
12.4%
6
Stanford University
Private
$191,800
$1,565,000
12.3%
7
Princeton University
Private
$187,700
$1,517,000
12.3%
8
Yale University
Private
$194,200
$1,392,000
11.9%
16
University of California, Berkeley
Public (In-State)
$118,900
$1,223,000
13.1%
