If you have embarked upon a college search and are interested in a career in community service or in the non-profit sector, it is likely that one of the criteria you're looking for in a college or university is how community-minded they are, and therefore are looking at schools ranked high for service.
Many schools have initiatives that allow students to get involved with their community. It's a beneficial thing for any student to be involved in one of these initiatives. However, for some students, working with non-profit, charitable organizations is what they wish to do with their lives. These students that wish to go above and beyond to help their fellow man deserve a school that has the same sort of philosophy.
Ranking Methodology
In order to arrive at our list of the top schools ranked high for service, we first took a look at Washington Monthly's 25 schools most devoted to service, as detailed in their 2013 National Universities Rankings, which evaluates schools based on their contribution to the overall public good in three ways: social mobility, research, and service. A total of 284 schools made the cut. The major service categories weighted by Washington Monthly are Community Service Participation and Hours Served, Service Staff, Courses, Financial Aid Support, ROTC Participation among Students and Alumni, Student and Alumni Involvement in the Peace Corps, and Federal Work Study Funds Spent on Community Service.
The schools were then ranked by the average 30 year net return on investment according to payscale.com. Just because a student isn't concerned primarily with financial gain, doesn't mean money shouldn't be taken into consideration. Students would do well to remind themselves that the higher the ROI, the faster they can get out of debt and get on their way to being able to serve their communities.
Below you will find our list of the Top 25 schools that are known for service, as ranked by their return on investment. Along with the school's overall service rating, you will find each institution's top three rated service categories accompanied by a short summary detailing the school's attitude toward service and the programs the school has to help students get involved.
Ranking the Top Service-Oriented Schools by 30 Year Return on Investment
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Service and community-minded individuals looking for a school that supports their world view will benefit from checking out all of the schools on this list that are known for the altruistic opportunities they provide to their students. If you're interested in maximizing your education dollar even more, find a scholarship that is eligible to be used at the schools on this list by checking out our State Listing of Scholarships Available to Full and Part Time College Students; it's the perfect way to attain an even bigger return on your investment from these Top 25 Schools Ranked High for Service.
*Since only those schools that had ROI information provided by payscale.com were included in our list, and those that did not have that information available were excluded, 2 of the schools here have an overall Washington Monthly ranking that exceeds #25.
