New Jersey Colleges Top 3 of States with Wealthiest Alumni

When you have a child or children deciding on a college to attend you have several hopes and concerns. I've been through this three times. The hope is that they adjust well and enjoy their higher education experience socially. We as parents want our teens to be able to handle the curriculum and succeed academically as well. Most parents and students are also looking ahead and considering post-graduation success.

There’s no guarantee that when someone graduates from their respective university how much income they’ll earn. There is also no way of knowing for sure how successful they’ll be in their chosen field. However, if you’re someone who likes to consider the odds, you may find this information interesting and helpful.

A new study by Degree Choices reveals the state with colleges with the highest-earning graduates. They found that certain geographical areas produce more successful graduates than others. The study didn’t base their findings on what a college graduate earned immediately after earning their degree. The survey focused on what the former student’s financial situation looked like four years after graduation.

For instance, their research shows that those who earn an undergraduate degree in Massachusetts tend to be more successful than any other state in the country. They found that New England higher education grads earned an average of nearly sixty thousand dollars after leaving college. Those who attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) earn just under one hundred thirty thousand dollars.

New Jersey is one of five states in the northeast to be named among the top 10 states with the highest-earning college graduates. Those who studied at a New Jersey college landed third in the country. Our graduates earn an average salary just shy of fifty-nine thousand bucks. That’s less than a thousand dollars below the annual salary of the Bay State grads ranked number one. Those of us who studied at the Stevens Institute of Technology are the state’s wealthiest alumni. They bring in an average salary of over ninety-four thousand dollars four years after graduation.

Degree Choices found the top five colleges in the Garden State based on economic score, cost, and earnings:

From a professor at Princeton University to a blonde socialite law student at Harvard University to a dog named Max getting the college experience to an all-acapella singing group to a genius working as a janitor at MIT, college movies can remind us of the ups and downs of earning a diploma.

The folks at Grand Canyon University did some research to find the most popular classic college movie in every state. They compiled a list of classic college movies and then sourced Google Trends data from the past five years to determine the popularity of each movie.

Here’s what they found in New Jersey:

The most searched classic college movie in New Jersey is Legally Blonde. This comedy and romance film was released in 2001! “Pitch Perfect” was the most searched classic college movie overall, followed by “Legally Blonde”, “Glory Road”, and “A Beautiful Mind”. The Northeast loved “Legally Blonde” the most. It could be because New Jersey and Pennsylvania are home to the most lawyers per resident. The South most searched for The Waterboy. Southerners take their college football seriously. places like Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas gross millions in football program revenue alone.

My favorite is multiple Academy award winner "A Beautiful Mind,' the article shares that "It is no surprise that [it] landed at the top in four states, including Connecticut, but NOT in New Jersey. The film is set primarily in Princeton, NJ.

You can find the most popular movies across the U.S. mapped here.

Here are some of the top movies that showed up in the survey...

This 2012 film released ten years ago this week "showcases cliques and conflict between acapella groups, which could especially resonate with millennials who struggled to get along with roommates and others during their time on campus." It stars Anna Kendrick who plays freshman Beca, an independent, aspiring DJ with no interest in college life. The movie also features Rebel Wilson and Elizabeth Banks.

"Adam Sandler and Kathy Bates star in “The Waterboy,” a comedy about a momma’s boy who discovers he has the talent to tackle, landing him a spot on the college football team." Sandler plays Bobby Boucher whose goal is the be the best waterboy he can be by creating the most delicious water ever.

This 2001 film was the number one selection in New Jersey. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Coolidge, Selma Blair, and Luke Wilson. This is just one of those movies for my wife and me. When it's on, we watch it.

Set at Notre Dame, this 1993 film is a true story about Rudy Ruettiger who defied all odds to attend the University of Notre Dame and play on the football team. It has a great cast with Sean Astin, John Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Charles S. Dutton, and Ned Beatty.

This film is loaded with inspirational messages typical of a Disney movie and is based on a true story. Starring Josh Lucas as Coach Don Haskins, he leads his team in a story about the 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship. The movie also features a cameo of the real-life Don Haskins who plays a gas station attendant.

The is an awesome movie with an unbelievable acting performance by Russell Crowe who plays John Nash, a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician. The movie is set mainly in New Jersey at Princeton University. The movie also features Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Ed Harris, and once again, Josh Lucas.