DePauw students' "work hard, play hard" mentality was reflected in the university's recent sixth place ranking on PayScale's list of "Top Party Schools By Salary Potential".
Each year, PayScale, an online salary, benefits and compensation company completes a college salary report. Amongst lists like "Best Engineering Colleges by Salary Potential" and "Best Ivy League Colleges by Salary Potential," "Top Schools By Salary Potential" lies the schools that have time to work hard and have fun. DePauw placed sixth on the list amongst many major universities, such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who ranked first, University of Colorado—Boulder and University of Texas—Austin.
After examining the top-20 schools on the 2010 Princeton Review Party School Ranking, PayScale took a look at how much the typical graduate from each of these universities earned at the start of the careers and mid-career." DePauw graduates average starting salaries were estimated at $41,300 with median mid-career salaries at $85,500
The study considered "starting employees" to be "full-time employees with 5 years of experience or less in their career or field who hold a bachelor's degree and no higher degrees." Mid-career employees were considered "full-time employees with at least 10 years of experience in their career or field who hold a bachelor's degree and no higher degrees."
PayScale created this particular list to offer information that "no course catalogue can describe," answering students' big question — "Which top party schools give you great memories and a good paycheck after you toss your cap?"
As this list is being released to prospective students around the country, the question arises — how will this impact their perception of DePauw?
"I think statistics like this will draw a certain population to DePauw," said Eugene Gloria, professor of English. "DePauw already attracts a certain type of student, one who wants a quality education and a social experience. I don't think this will take away from DePauw's strong academic reputation."
But many question the validity of the survey.
"All rankings that try to rank social aspects are dubious at best," said President Brian Casey.
Professor of Spanish Aaron Dziubinskyj echoed this sentiment.
"I really would hope that people looking at these polls would take it with a grain of salt. Level of pay does not equate to success and partying does not equate to failure," Dziubinskyj said. "The fact that DePauw is a ‘party school' doesn't really impact my job or my perception of the students at this university at all."
Sophomore Ann Sarkisian also doubted the accuracy of the study.
"This might be true for some, but the truth of it really depends on who you are. It doesn't really impact what we are doing at DePauw," Sarkisian said.
Overall, students, faculty and staff did not see this ranking as a negative thing for DePauw's image, but rather a reflection of how well rounded students are and their ability to strike a balance between leisure and academics.
"A lot of people think partying automatically equates to something negative, but honestly I think DePauw showing up on this list shows the spirit of DePauw," said sophomore Leah Freestone. "DePauw is a fun, close-knit community that has a good time but also gets their work done."
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Payscale's top-10 party schools by salary potential Mid-career median salaries: 1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — $94,300 2. University of California, Santa Barbara — $91,000 3. University of Colorado-Boulder — $90,400 4. University of Maryland — $89,800 5. University of Texas-Austin — $89,500 6. DePauw University — $85,500 7. University of Wisconsin-Madison — $84,800 8. Pennsylvania State University — $83,700 9. Michigan State University — $80,900 10. West Virginia University — $80,800 |