The Economist recently published its investigation comparing institutions’ alumni earnings and ranked Drake in 17th place among several notable universities.

This was the Economist’s first college ranking and their approach differed from several other college ranking publishers because they chose to measure the value of a university by the outcome.

With any ranking that is released about Drake’s educational value against other schools, students continue to wonder whether or not their degree will have more merit upon graduating.

“Going into Drake as an undecided major, I feel comfortable knowing that whatever job I choose to pursue, I will be making money in that field,” first year Madeline Cramer said.

Having never ranked colleges before, the news organization wanted the focus of their evaluation to be a more in depth look at the value of an education when it comes to being successful and having a well-paid job.

“The Economist’s first-ever college rankings are based on a simple, if debatable, premise: the economic value of a university is equal to the gap between how much money its students subsequently earn, and how much they might have made had they studied elsewhere,” they said, along with the rankings they released.

Students find it important to know how their investment in a particular university will benefit them in the future.

The ranking gives perspective to students about what they’re working towards.

“This is a great thing for Drake students to know that all the hard work put into your education pays off in the end, which is what you hoped for in the first place,” sophomore Kori Ponder said.

Drake’s ranking not only influences students, it also creates a name for Drake nationwide as a school that puts a high value on the outcome of an education.

“That information offers the potential to disentangle student merit from university contributions, and thus to determine which colleges deliver the greatest return and why,” the Economist said.

With another ranking that positively reflects the work being done here, Drake continues to receive national attention for its impact on students.

“I think (the ranking) adds more merit to our degrees because a Drake student is a very unique kind of student. We’re dedicated, passionate and ambitious,” Ponder said.