When choosing the college you want to attend, one of your main considerations is probably the cost of tuition. But have you ever thought about how a school's price tag compares to how much its degree will earn you in the future? SmartMoney recently released a list of the universities that offer the biggest payoffs. By comparing tuition costs with how much graduates were earning five and 15 years after graduation, they created a payback ratio which shows the schools that are the best long-term investments.

It turns out that several major public universities offer the best bang for your buck. The Ivy League schools may come with more prestige and better business networks, but their graduates do not necessarily earn more than public school graduates in the long run.

To learn more about SmartMoney's findings and their ranking methodology, read the full article. Here are some of the schools with the best payback ratio:  

Public Schools:

   1. Texas A&M University (Average payback: 315%)
   2. University of Texas at Austin – my alma mater! (Average payback: 306%)
   3. Georgia Tech (Average payback: 263%)
   4. University of Georgia (Average payback: 239%)
   5. University of Washington (Average payback: 225%)

Liberal Arts Schools:

   1. Washington and Lee (Average payback: 145%)
   2. University of Richmond (Average payback: 130%)
   3. Lafayette College (Average payback: 115%)
   4. College of the Holy Cross (Average payback: 114%)
   5. Bucknell University (Average payback: 114%)

Ivy League Schools:

   1. Princeton (Average payback: 132%)
   2. Dartmouth College (Average payback: 131%)
   3. Yale University (Average payback: 127%)
   4. Harvard University (Average payback: 124%)
   5. University of Pennsylvania (Average payback: 124%)