The report uses data from the expanded College Scorecard, an online tool created by the U.S. government in 2015, from 4,500 colleges, including traditional two-year and four-year public and private colleges, as well as for-profit colleges and training academies.
Here are other key points from the report:
• Ten years after enrollment, the median net present value for all colleges is $107,000; that rises to $723,000 after 40 years.
• Colleges that primarily award associate’s degrees have the highest short-term return, a median of $141,000 10 years after enrollment.
• In the long term, the net economic gains for attending a private for-profit college are $551,000, versus $838,000 for a private nonprofit college and $765,000 for a public college.
