25 colleges that are worth the money
25 colleges that are worth the money · CNBC

Where you go to college isn't just an investment in the next four years, it's an investment in the rest of your life.

And although price certainly isn't the only factor to consider when deciding where to attend, it doesn't hurt to go to a school that's a good value.

Payscale's annual College ROI Report determines the return on investment for schools across the U.S. by subtracting the cost of attendance from graduates' 20-year pay.

For the report, Payscale draws its data from the approximately 1.3 million college-educated workers who successfully completed PayScale's Employee Survey over the last 10 years. Read a complete breakdown of the methodology here.

For this list, CNBC included schools based on the cost of out-of-state tuition, where applicable.

Though we can't guarantee that attending any particular school will result in the same ROI, here are 25 schools that give you a good shot.

25. Dartmouth College

20 year net ROI: $650,000
Total cost for four years: $257,000
Average loan amount: $23,200

24. Capitol College

20 year net ROI: $653,000
Total cost for four years: $135,000
Average loan amount: $37,000

23. Missouri University of Science and Technology

20 year net ROI: $654,000
Total cost for four years: $147,000
Average loan amount: $27,500

22. University of Pennsylvania

20 year net ROI: $673,000
Total cost for four years: $252,000
Average loan amount: $25,400

21. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

20 year net ROI: $676,000
Total cost for four years: $252,000
Average loan amount: $42,800

20. Carnegie Mellon University

20 year net ROI: $678,000
Total cost for four years: $251,000
Average loan amount: $31,500

19. Maine Maritime Academy

20 year net ROI: $680,000
Total cost for four years: $145,000
Average loan amount: $43,200

18. Harvard University

20 year net ROI: $700,000
Total cost for four years: $244,000
Average loan amount: $20,300

17. Massachusetts Maritime Academy

20 year net ROI: $712,000
Total cost for four years :$244,00
Average loan amount: $32,000

16. Babson College

20 year net ROI: $726,000
Total cost for four years: $246,000
Average loan amount: $30,000

15. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

20 year net ROI: $738,000
Total cost for four years: $232,000
Average loan amount: $45,500

14. Kettering University

20 year net ROI: $743,000
Total cost for four years: $208,000
Average loan amount: $41,700

13. Georgia Institute of Technology

20 year net ROI: $746,000
Total cost for four years: $174,000
Average loan amount: $31,700

12. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

20 year net ROI: $752,000
Total cost for four years: $235,000
Average loan amount: $43,000