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There are two reasons to go to college: Get an education, and upon graduation, get a better, higher-paying job than if you hadn't gone to college.

When a college does both well, it pays you back for your hard work and the cost of attendance.

Princeton Review surveyed administrators and students at 650 colleges, as well as analyzed data from PayScale.com of alumni earnings from those same 650 schools, to determine which colleges offer the best payback.

No. 1 is California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

The top 10 colleges that pay you back:
1. California Institute of Technology
2. Princeton University
3. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
4. Harvey Mudd College
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6. Stanford University
7. Yale University
8. University of California, Berkeley
9. Rice University
10. Harvard College

These colleges have one thing in common: They offer outstanding academics, while working hard to be affordable to students with need. Most important, students graduate with outstanding career prospects.

Since it really is all about getting a great job, these colleges help you the most with that:

• Best Career Placement: Harvey Mudd College
  
• Best School for Internships: The George Washington University
  
• Best Alumni Network: Dartmouth College
  
• Best School for Making an Impact: University of North Carolina at Asheville

--From the Editors at Netscape