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Top 10 Universities in the USA to Actually Land You a Job

A few years ago all you needed was a piece of paper saying you’d gone to college. There were companies hiring in every market, and people were snatching up degrees from anywhere they could so that they could compete for the sort of job you’d be able to advance in and enjoy for the long-term. As the economy shifted, however, education did as well. Suddenly those who had so desperately sought a degree, any degree, were without a job. They had the degree, they had some experience, but they were struggling to find a spot.

Top Universities in USA

As the economy improves slowly, those with college degrees are in the best position for improvement. Already the job market has widened enough to grab the new college graduates as well as opening up a few spots for the unemployed individuals as well. For recent college graduates, this is good news – there may be a job waiting for you in the United States economy! The trick is being sure the degree you’re getting is good enough for those potential employers. The job market can afford to be picky when it comes to choosing the right degreed candidates.

Gone are the days that any piece of paper labeled ‘degree’ would do. To be successful, you need to have a degree from a school ranked highly with employers. If an employer finds graduates from certain schools successful, it’s a much better bet you’ll find a job if you make your way into one of these top universities in the USA.

Columbia University

  • Location: New York. New York
  • Annual Tuition: $43,304

Located in the heart of the largest city in the United States, Columbia is one of the oldest universities on the list of top 10 universities in the USA. Women’s studies and engineering are as prestigious as the engineering program. Theology is a well-known program at Columbia as well. The highly urban setting sets Columbia apart from many of the other universities on the list, giving it a higher annual price tag as well. The high cost is offset, at least, by the popularity of the program with employers.

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Annual Tuition: $39,212

Just down the street from Harvard, MIT is known as one of the most impressive science and math-based university in the world. From unique architecture to specialized engineering programs, MIT is home to the Engineers. Programs on the university are often funded by government agencies, and MIT graduates are among the most sought-after individuals in the world when it comes to engineering, science and mathematics.

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Stanford University

  • Location: San Francisco, California
  • Annual Tuition: $39,201

A beautiful campus in a beautiful location, Stanford has sprawling green acres near the heart of San Francisco. The campus is 30 minutes outside of San Francisco and is well-known as one of the top universities in the USA for high quality education. Only half of the colleges in this private university offer degree programs to undergraduates, but those programs are easily among the best in the world. With distinguished programs in everything from environmental research to music, Stanford is an excellent pathway to an outstanding career.

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Harvard University

  • Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Annual Tuition: $38,416

Truly the oldest university in the United States, Harvard is known the world over for its outstanding level of education. Originating in 1836, Harvard has been the most popular campus for employers for centuries. It is consistently a leader on the list of the top 10 universities in the USA. Harvard provides an outstanding education in business, medicine, education, engineering and law. The community of the school is sound as well with the students arranged into houses to give them a closer knit feeling while attending the school.

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Yale University

  • Location: New Haven, Connecticut
  • Annual Tuition: $38,300

One of the oldest and most prestigious universalities in the United States, Yale was founded in 1701 and remains an excellent program more than 300 years later. Yale is a smaller campus and is very well known for drama and music programs in addition to an outstanding graduate level program in business, law, art and medicine, which are among the best in the world. When you attend Yale, you can expect to be split up into individual residential houses where you’ll be nurtured and made to be a part of a community.

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University of California, Berkeley

  • Location: Berkeley, California
  • Annual Tuition: $33,747

In a stunning location, the University of California, Berkeley is found very close to San Francisco Bay. A large public university on the list of the top ten universities in the USA, Berkeley is well known for being a hot bed of action. Known for its love of free speech as well as the high level of education, Berkeley is considered on par with the Ivy League universities found on the East coast. In addition to being an outstanding university, recognized by employers, Berkeley is a bargain if you happen to be a resident of California. The tuition for non-residents may be over $33,000 per year, but residents pay only $10,868 per year for a world class education.

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University of Michigan

  • Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • Annual Tuition: $36,163

Easily one of the best college towns in the United States, Ann Arbor is home to an excellent university. With beautiful weather most of the year and a town dedicated to the university and its students, the University of Michigan is a bargain for local residents at $12,400 per year, but an outstanding program for non-residents as well. With excellent programs in a number of areas, the University of Michigan is well loved by employers across the country – if you can stand to leave the comfort of the town, of course.

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University of Pennsylvania

  • Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Annual Tuition: $40,514

A private university on the list of the best universities in the USA, the University of Pennsylvania is easily confused with most large public universities due to its large size. Originally founded by Benjamin Franklin, the University of Pennsylvania has nationally recognized programs in business, engineering and liberal arts. A prestigious program, UPenn is recognized not only by other academic institutions, but by employers as well.

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University of California, Los Angeles

  • Location: Los Angeles, California
  • Annual Tuition: $33,660

A truly urban campus in the sprawling city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a large public school that is a relative bargain for residents at $10,781 per year. The higher rate for non-residents is still a relative bargain compared to some of the more expensive private universities on this list, especially as you consider the prestige of the university in programs like management, education, engineering, health and law.

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University of Chicago

  • Location: Chicago, Illinois
  • Annual Tuition: $40,188

A small private school among the top universities in the USA, the University of Chicago is a very close-knit community located in the heart of a bustling city. The undergraduate programs in business, science and the social sciences are highly respected and those gradates are sought after by employers across the country.

Photo by en.wikipedia.org

Often it’s not just the reputation of the school that matters when you’re using one of the top 10 universities in the USA to start your excellent career. Universities and colleges with outstanding reputations draw in businesses and government agencies anxious to take advantage of the rigorous programs. The universities work closely with these organizations to prepare students in both the knowledge they need to succeed as well as the soft skills necessary to network with, and eventually become employed or sponsored by these global leaders in business, science and technology.

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Rebecca is a full-time everything and loving it. She teaches English and reading to her much beloved "at-risk" high school students during the day and is a freelance content and copywriter in the evenings with time to raise her children in between. Specializing in authority-style website copy and materials, Rebecca focuses on topics related to small business, home, family and education.

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