College can help students kick-start their chosen careers.
While working hard to get good grades is key to gaining a great salary, certain U.S. colleges appear to offer an edge in potential earning power.
Economic modelers have crunched the numbers by quantifying average wages across all alumni in its professional profiles database.
This involved attributing earnings from the Occupational Employment And Wages Statistics program at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, responsible for producing annual wage estimates for approximately 800 careers.
Researchers used the national median wage by job, featuring only those universities with 1,000-plus profiles in the expert economists' database.
Here are the private colleges in the five West Coast states whose graduates go on to earn the most money, according to this study.
17. Academy of Art University ($71,734)
Established in 1929, the Academy of Art University is a private for-profit art school in situated in San Francisco, California.
Popular majors at the college range from drafting and Design, Animation, Video Graphics and Special Effects, and Computer Graphics.
16. California Baptist University ($71,119)
Founded in 1950, California Baptist University is a private, university based in Riverside, California.
Students attend this West Coast institution for majors such as Business, Nursing and Psychology.
15. University of Arizona Global Campus / Ashford University ($72,310)
University of Arizona Global Campus, once known as Ashford University, is a public online university in San Diego, California.
Popular majors at the private college include Business, Early Childhood Education and Psychology.
14. Azusa Pacific University ($77,817)
Azusa Pacific University is a private, college based in California.
Popular majors at the religious college include Kinesiology, Business, Theater and Chemistry.
13. University of La Verne ($81,338)
Founded in 1891, the University of La Verne is a private college based in La Verne, California.
Popular majors at this above-average private university include Business, Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Psychology.
12. Trident University International (84,471)
Trident University International is a private for-profit online college located in Cypress, California.
Popular majors at this institution with fairly competitive admissions include Business, Health Service Preparatory Studies, and Liberal Arts and Humanities.
11. Chapman University ($83,858)
Chapman University is a private research college situated in Orange, California.
Popular majors at Chapman include Business, Cinematography, and Video Production and Psychology.
10. National University ($83,949)
Founded in 1971, National University is a private college with its headquarters in San Diego, California.
Popular majors at this small institution include Business, Nursing, and Liberal Arts and Humanities.
9. University of San Francisco ($87,727)
The University of San Francisco is a private Jesuit college in the West Coast state of California.
Among the most popular majors to take at USFCA are Nursing, Business and Finance.
8. Gonzaga University ($88,997)
Gonzaga University is a private, mid-sized college based in Spokane, Washington.
Popular majors at this somewhat competitive educational institution include Business, Psychology and Mechanical Engineering.
7. Loyola Marymount University ($90,238)
Loyola Marymount University is a private Jesuit and Marymount research college based in Los Angeles, California.
Popular majors at this West Coast college include Communications, Psychology and Marketing.
6. University of the Pacific ($91,020)
The University of the Pacific is a private Methodist-affiliated college with its main campus situated in Stockton, California.
The most popular majors this smaller-sized university include Business, Biology, and Liberal Arts and Humanities.
5. University of San Diego ($93,420)
The University of San Diego is a private research that merged to form its current incarnation in 1972.
Some of the most popular majors to take at this highly rated West Coast college include Finance, Marketing and Communications.
4. Pepperdine University ($94,781)
Pepperdine University's Malibu campus is nestled in the rolling foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains
The most popular majors at this prestigious West Coast college include Business, Public Relations and Psychology.
3. Santa Clara University ($96,696)
Established in 1851, Santa Clara is a private Jesuit college situated in California's Silicon Valley.
Popular majors at this highly rated mid-sized institution include Finance, Communications and Economics.
2. University of Southern California ($97,778)
Founded in 1880, the University of Southern California is the oldest private research university in the West Coast state.
USC is a large institution, with popular majors including Business, Biology and Communications.
1. Stanford University ($108,345)
Stanford is one of the world's leading teaching and research institutions, based in California's San Francisco Bay Area.
Admissions are extremely competitive at this mid-size institution, graduating a reported 94 percent of students, and popular majors include Computer Science, Engineering and Biology.
Correction 08/25/21 2:56 p.m. ET: Colleges not located on the West Coast have been removed from this article.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
