By Anna Simon
STAFF WRITER

CLEMSON -- Clemson University ranked eighth nationally in a new SmartMoney survey of the best colleges for making money.

The survey, which looks at tuition costs and the earning power of graduates, finds that public universities outpace the Ivy League schools in value in terms of return on investment.

Leading the pack was the University of Georgia, with a 338 percent average payback. Clemson, with a 201 percent payback, far outpaced the top Ivy League school, Princeton University, which had a 132 percent payback.

“This kind of information and analysis will serve us well in the current and future financial environment in which we operate,” said Clemson President Jim Barker.

The ranking was among 10 points Barker listed in an address to faculty and staff Wednesday as reasons that Clemson can look forward to a bright future.

The Wall Street Journal publication noted that elite private schools have low student-faculty rations, big endowments and other assets, but factoring in tuition and future salaries, public schools “may actually deliver a far better bang for your buck.”