15 Colleges Whose Grads Net the Highest Salaries PART 3: Private Colleges

These 15 schools get students off to the best financial start after graduation. Money Watch calculates this list by balancing graduates' salaries with the average amount of debt they graduate in.

They did this by looking at the college's alums in two groups: group 1 consisted of students 2 years after graduation and group 2 consisted of alums out 15 years and mid-career. Here are the top 5 Private schools on their list:

Carnegie-Mellon University

2009 Tuition: $143,540

Class of 2009 Median Pay: $62,400

1996 Tuition: $69,860

Class of 1996 Median Pay: $108,000

Bucknell University

2009 Tuition: $146,576

Class of 2009 Median Pay: $55,800

1996 Tuition: $72,420

Class of 1996 Median Pay: $115,000

Colgate University

2009 Tuition: $145,340

Class of 2009 Median Pay: $48,700

1996 Tuition: $76,340

Class of 1996 Median Pay: $119,000

University of Richmond

2009 Tuition: $147,860

Class of 2009 Median Pay: $48,500

1996 Tuition: $56,160

*Class of 1996 Median Pay: *$86,300

Williams College

2009 Tuition: $138,770

Class of 2009 Median Pay: $49,900

1996 Tuition: $77,195

Class of 1996 Median Pay: $106,000

Click here to see the top 5 school or here to see the top 5 Ivy league schools in the list.

Image Source: Carnegie Mellon; Bucknell; Colgate; Richmond; Williams