With the expense of college no small matter, choosing the right school can make all the difference in paying off those often-crippling student loans.

PayScale has ranked hundreds of universities and other institutions of higher learning by the median pay its graduates earn at the midpoint of their careers. Of course, high pay doesn't always equate with job satisfaction. That's reflected in the fact that one of highest ranked the colleges in terms of earnings has only about one-third of its graduates finding a high level of meaning in their jobs.

That job meaning quotient is a measure of how many respondents said their occupations make the world a better place. PayScale looked at institutions that offer two-year, four-year and graduate degrees. We looked at the highest ranked four-year colleges offering bachelor's degrees among the more than 1,000 colleges and universities studied in the PayScale report and ranked them by mid-career pay. Data was collected from employees who completed PayScale's survey.

For those looking for bargains, it's worth noting that five of the colleges on this list are public institutions.

Check out the top 13 colleges whose grads earn the most:

Special Reports /

Top 13 colleges whose grads earn the most: 2015

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