One thing this metric fails to take into account is the opportunity for different types of non-monetary success. Many Obies make significantly less money than graduates of our peer institutions, typically opting to go into academia or public service over higher-paying jobs in the private sector. While this is a point of pride for the College — our slogan is, after all, “Think one person can change the world? So do we” — it also makes it difficult to remain financially stable without having to make dramatic changes to the budget. The Grateful Grads Index of a given institution is positively correlated with the median salary of that school’s alumni at 34 years old (about 12 years after graduation). In fact, adjusting for income, Oberlin moves up to sixth place among our peers.
