North Carolina A&T Ranks Second Among N.C. Public Universities in Early Career Earnings

Money reconfigured its annual rankings this year, trading its previous “Best Value Colleges” system for a new “Best Colleges for Your Money” analysis, which the magazine describes as “uniquely practical.” It took into account graduation rates, institutional financial health and other quality factors to identify the 711 campuses that made the Best College for Your Money list.

Among the findings in the new analysis:

• In early career earnings, North Carolina A&T alumni bring home an average annual salary of $50,600. They trail only alumni from North Carolina State University among public campuses in this state.
• The 50 Best Colleges for African Americans includes Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Duke, alongside North Carolina A&T in the top 10. Other historically black colleges and universities (HCBU) Florida A&M and Spelman College join A&T in that select grouping. A&T and Duke are the only North Carolina campuses in the Top 10.

Earlier this summer, N.C. A&T was ranked the top HBCU in the nation for both students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines and in online education programs.

The quality markers are translating into strong and growing interest in A&T, which is already America’s largest HBCU: This fall, the university expects to enroll the largest and most academically high-achieving entering class in its history.