Forbes: America's Best Colleges 2009

Interesting Ranking/Methodology based on success of students:

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/94/colleges-09_A… Rank Name State Cost Freshman Class Size 1 United States Military Academy NY 0 1,263 2 Princeton University NJ 49,830 1,243 3 California Institute of Technology CA 48,990 236 4 Williams College MA 49,530 540 5 Harvard University MA 50,250 1,666 6 Wellesley College MA 50,026 596 7 United States Air Force Academy CO 0 1,286 8 Amherst College MA 50,230 439 9 Yale University CT 51,400 1,318 10 Stanford University CA 51,760 1,703 11 Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA 50,100 1,048 12 Swarthmore College PA 50,381 372 13 Columbia University NY 51,406 1,356 14 Centre College KY 39,200 336 15 Haverford College PA 51,637 327 16 Boston College MA 52,060 2,167 17 Northwestern University IL 52,120 2,078 18 Bowdoin College ME 50,570 488 19 Vassar College NY 51,370 638 20 Whitman College WA 46,212 401 21 University of Chicago IL 53,310 1,306 22 Kenyon College OH 49,260 456 23 Carleton College MN 50,000 489 24 Colby College ME 50,120 482 25 Middlebury College VT 52,460 576

23 Comments
 

hahaha check out #83 and 98

76 Hillsdale College MI 17,600 NA
77 Vanderbilt University TN 52,303 1,569
78 University of California, Los Angeles CA 25,131 4,735
79 Virginia Military Institute VA 19,675 392
80 Skidmore College NY 51,501 652
81 Hendrix College AR 37,758 433
82 Macalester College MN 46,730 479
83 University of Pennsylvania PA 51,299 2,400
84 Berea College KY 9,186 413
85 Transylvania University KY 33,610 317
86 Lake Forest College IL 43,500 379
87 Nebraska Wesleyan University NE 30,982 383
88 Oberlin College OH 50,658 766
89 St. John's College MD 49,818 154
90 Centenary College of Louisiana LA 33,600 NA
91 Earlham College IN 42,694 324
92 Wheaton College MA 50,130 420
93 St. Mary's College of Maryland MD 25,644 NA
94 Sewanee University of the South TN 44,020 410
95 Hollins University VA 39,505 209
96 Wesleyan College GA 27,300 83
97 Huntington University IN 29,390 277
98 Dartmouth College NH 50,547 1,096

 

Why would anyone ever go to Chicago? honestly. worst college experience u can ever be part of, I've talked to too many kids who went there that were kind of cool and thought it sucked. Go Northwestern if u want Chicago I guess, even if its thats a bit further out of town.

But anyways i'm more of a drinker/partier/lounging around type that doesn't like doing lots of work and having no fun, so i guess thats why chicago isn't for me. to each his own.

 
big unitWhy would anyone ever go to Chicago? honestly. worst college experience u can ever be part of, I've talked to too many kids who went there that were kind of cool and thought it sucked. Go Northwestern if u want Chicago I guess, even if its thats a bit further out of town.

But anyways i'm more of a drinker/partier/lounging around type that doesn't like doing lots of work and having no fun, so i guess thats why chicago isn't for me. to each his own.

I didn't say I would go there.

Maybe if I actually can get a job from my non-target school, I'll post this list on the wall of my cubicle. Oh right, McDonald's doesn't have cubicles.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
 
Best Response

Duke and Cornell 104/105... lmao

101 Millsaps College MS 36,054 271
102 Emory and Henry College VA 34,740 241
103 Wheaton College IL 35,900 581
104 Duke University NC 50,925 1,699
105 Cornell College IA 37,260 NA
106 Georgetown University DC 54,200 1,571
107 Dickinson College PA 50,334 613
108 College of Idaho ID 27,876 272
109 Oklahoma Baptist University OK 24,378 NA
110 Carson-Newman College TN 26,750 444
111 Knox College IL 38,433 367
112 Marietta College OH 35,784 385
113 Bates College ME 51,400 521
114 University of Dallas TX 37,955 342
115 United States Coast Guard Academy CT 3,950 271
116 Brigham Young University UT 12,441 NA
117 Washington and Jefferson College PA 41,684 399
118 Luther College IA 39,550 630
119 Bellarmine University KY 42,496 572
120 Mississippi College MS 22,865 533
121 University of Mary Washington VA 17,600 877
122 Wells College NY 29,276 155
123 Clarke College IA 31,960 136
124 Muhlenberg College PA 46,000 597
125 Denison University OH 45,980 605

 

Not to be nitpicky, but 105 is actually Cornell College in Iowa. That being said, I cant find Cornell University so it might even be further down the list... (cringe)

 

ahh sorry I misread what u said. In that case I agree with you. Penn kids especially are the douchiest while the Chicago people I've worked with (very few...most of them stick in the MW) have been nice guys. Of course a lot of my friends went to Penn...and of course I went to one of the other similar schools...

 

This list really vindicates my decision to drop out of Wharton and transfer to Swarthmore College. My parents were appalled, but as a devout Buddhist, I take my oath of poverty very seriously. I am glad that Forbes has finally recognized that there's more to this life than money.

Too bad they're a finance magazine.

 

You do realize that Swarthmore is an excellent LAC, right? Its right after williams and amherst on US News, and while it's not a target, you would certainly be well positioned to go to a top 7 b-school and could potentially have a shot at an analyst gig with some networking if you were ugrad there.

I guess what I'm saying is that your joke isn't actually funny when you contrast Swarthmore with some of the more egregious misrankings on the list.

 

Explicabo expedita eligendi ut molestiae quis officia qui. Natus ex ullam omnis et. Sit quis soluta voluptatum rerum.

 

Impedit non voluptates accusamus. Cumque dolorem velit cupiditate atque. Minima eos sequi beatae veritatis modi praesentium aliquam veritatis. Dignissimos repellat sed esse ab quasi occaecati alias nam. Aperiam tempore voluptas soluta eum amet dolor.

Ab repellendus aliquam saepe dolore quas. Fuga delectus cumque debitis voluptatum corrupti alias.

"... then, lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it."

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”