PUBLIC SCHOOL STANDOUTS

Among the public schools, none did more for students salary-wise than the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, where students earned nearly $10 per tuition dollar. That was followed by SUNY Binghamton ($8.52) and James Madison University ($7.18). Kenan-Flagler, where starting salaries were a middle-of-the-pack $53,500, topped the list of publics in large part because of its low cost—$5,397 a year. Lawrence Murray, director of UNC's undergraduate business program, says recruiters are willing to visit the school, and to pay top-dollar for grads, because of the school's excellent academics. "I think our students are competitive with anyone," Murray says. "We do our best to tie academics and career services together."