Is getting your degree from a top university worth the cost? If you look at the data, while prestigious institutions often carry hefty price tags, the starting salaries for graduates sometimes pay off. In other cases, the price tag for the degree does not reflect the high upfront financial investment.

Edumentors sourced tuition fees, living expenses, employability, and starting salaries from QS World University Rankings (2025), university sites, Statista, alumni surveys, and industry data to calculate a return on investment (ROI) ratio by comparing median graduate salaries to total study costs.

They looked at ROI by comparing starting salaries to the cost of studying. If a university’s ratio was closer to 2, the upfront cost was high compared to the starting salary. On the other hand, a ratio closer to 1 meant grads started earning decent money right away.

Edumentors found the institutions below to be the most overpriced universities.

THE MOST PROMINENT FINDINGS

It turns out that UCL tops the list as the most overpriced university, with a significant gap between the cost of education and starting salaries. Also, even with a 100% employment rate, graduates from Oxford and Cambridge struggle to justify their high costs with modest starting salaries. Looking at Northwestern University, despite its hefty price tag, this school falls short in terms of salary returns. Meanwhile, Qatar University stands out for its affordability, but graduates face lower starting salaries.

Overall, universities in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia were the most overpriced due to their high tuition fees and living costs.

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