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FrogHire.ai Career Outcome
University ROI Rankings

The objective index evaluating major U.S. universities by cross-referencing graduate starting salary, permanent green-card employer density indicators (PERMs), and total regional software outcomes.

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FrogHire.ai Career Outcome University Ranking Methodology

Contributors: Andrew Chen, CEO, FrogHire.ai; Ziyue "Gabby" Fan, Data Specialist; Xinhai Ju, Data Specialist; Yanru Fan, Data Specialist; Hao Zhou, Data Specialist; Omar Mnfy, Intern

Methodology

The FrogHire.ai Career Outcome University Ranking methodology weighs four key factors, including tuition fees, the average annual salary of graduates, the percentage of Permanent Resident applicants (PERM), and the number of PERM applicants. Once the new data is released from the authoritative data sources below, it can be applied for future calculations.

Data Sources

Data Preparation

Institution tuition cost of 2022-2023

Source: NCES, College Navigator

Average Salary of 2023 PERM applicants graduated

U.S. Department of Labor, Performance (PERM) Data

Total number of International Students Enrollments

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, SEVIS Records

Total number of PERM Applicants Graduated in the Past 10 Years

U.S. Department of Labor, Performance (PERM) Data

Institution Eligibility

To be included in the U.S. Institution ROI Ranking, institutions must meet the following criteria:

01. LocationBe a U.S.-based, 4-year institution as recorded by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

02. AccreditationHold regional accreditation and offer bachelor's or higher degree programs.

03. International EnrollmentInternational students at least 500 are actively enrolled in 2023, according to SEVIS.

04. Data AvailabilityProvide publicly available tuition fees, post-graduation salary data, and Performance (PERM) Data for analysis.

Calculation

With the datasets above, we calculate the tuition-salary return on investment (ROI) and sponsorship density index as follows:

Formula 1: Return on InvestmentTuition/Salary ROI =
Average Salary of graduates (2023)
Institution tuition cost of 2022-2023
Formula 2: Green Card DensityGreen Card Holders %
PERM Applicants in Past 10 Years
Total International Enrollments

To calculate the Average Salary and Total # of PERM applicants who graduated in the past 10 years, we systematically clean and filter PERM data to ensure accuracy.

Using these core parameters, we compute four auxiliary rankings for all institutions:

1Average Salary of 2023 PERM Applicants
2Tuition-Salary Return On Investment
3Green Card Holders Percentage
4Total # of PERM Applicants Graduated in the Past 10 Years

Next, we calculate the geometric mean of the four rankings to determine the final master ranking of the institutions. FrogHire.ai's internal assessment applies a "4-3-2-1" weight vector to these auxiliary rankings:

α Average Salary of 2023 PERM Applicants (Weight: 40%) γ Green Card Holders Percentage (Weight: 20%) β Tuition/Salary Return On Investment (Weight: 30%) δ Total # of PERM Applicants Graduated (Weight: 10%)
Final Master Ranking = (α0.4 · β0.3 · γ0.2 · δ0.1)1/4

Final Insights

This methodology provides a comprehensive and balanced ranking of U.S. institutions by integrating key metrics such as tuition fees, graduate salaries, green card holder percentages, and the number of PERM applicants. By applying a weighted geometric mean to these factors, the ranking offers a nuanced perspective on the return on investment and career outcomes for international students. As new data becomes available from reliable sources, this methodology can be continuously updated, ensuring its relevance and utility for future analyses, making it a valuable tool for those assessing U.S. universities over time.