30 BEST LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES IN THE WEST, RANKED BY RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)

20-year Net ROI: $198,000
Concordia University in Irvine, California is a private Christian college associated with the Lutheran Church. The university is comprised of five schools, including a Christian seminary, a School of Education, and a School of Arts and Sciences. Students can choose from 20 undergraduate majors, or 50 specializations that include three different nursing programs. The university has an especially strong master's program, which The Chronicle of Higher Education hailed as "one of the fastest growing private nonprofit master's universities" in the country.

20-year Net ROI: $198,000
George Fox University is a private liberal arts college located in Newberg, Oregon. Founded in 1885 as a school for Quakers, the university now offers bachelor's degrees in nearly 40 majors. Interestingly, George Fox participates in the Richter Scholars program, in which 15-25 students per year are chosen to conduct original research in an area of interest. The university has been included on a number of rankings, including U.S. News & World Report's list of the best colleges in the West, as well as Kiplinger's Personal Finance's lists of the top Christian Schools and the "Best Value" schools in the country.

20-year Net ROI: $190,000
Linfield College, a private liberal arts school located in McMinnville, Oregon, is well-known for its strong and well-rounded curriculum. No matter their choice of major, students take a variety of general education courses, and can even become involved in faculty-led research projects as undergraduates. Linfield College is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the 128th best liberal arts college in the country.

20-year Net ROI: $179,000
Like the other colleges making up the Claremont Colleges consortium, Scripps College is one of the best liberal arts colleges in the West. This all-women's liberal arts school offers students a number of majors to choose from, the most popular of which include art, biology, economics, English, French, math, politics, and psychology. Regardless of major, all students must complete some classes in the humanities, including at least one course in each of the following: women's/gender studies; fine arts; letters; and foreign language. Students must also complete a senior thesis or project before graduating. Scripps is currently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the 23rd best liberal arts college in America.

20-year Net ROI: $166,000
Fresno Pacific University is a private liberal arts school associated with Christian education and founded by the Mennonite Brethren Churches. The university aims to develop "students for leadership and service through excellence in higher education," which it does by offering bachelor's degrees in 29 fields and 60 areas of study. Fresno Pacific University is currently ranked the 26th best school in the Western United States by U.S. News & World Report.

20-year Net ROI: $160,000
Whitworth University, located in Spokane, Washington, is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian church. Students can choose from more than 100 undergraduate majors, each of which requires a number of classes anchored in the liberal arts. To complement their chosen program of study, students are encouraged to take part in experiences such as studying abroad, internships, service learning, or research projects.

20-year Net ROI: $147,000
Students at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington spend the vast majority of their undergraduate careers immersed in the liberal arts. This valuable immersion begins in the freshman year when students take the two-semester Encounters course that acts as a solid base in the liberal arts. From there, students can choose from the list of 48 majors, or decide to design their own study program. Whitman has been ranked by Forbes as the 53rd best university in the nation, and by U.S. News & World Report as the 41st best liberal arts college in America.

20-year Net ROI: $145,000
Founded in 1842, Willamette University is the oldest university in the western United States. It's also one of the best liberal arts colleges in the region. Willamette's College of Liberal Arts offers a strong base of liberal education, and gives students unique opportunities to design their own courses of study, publish papers, and conduct research. Currently, U.S. News & World Report has Willamette ranked as the 72nd best liberal arts college in the United States, while Washington Monthly has ranked it as the 42nd best American liberal arts college.

20-year Net ROI: $143,000
Students at Reed College in Portland, Oregon receive one of the best liberal arts colleges in the western United States. As part of the core curriculum, each ‘Reedie' completes a humanities program that consists of courses such as Introduction to Western Humanities, Early Modern Europe, Modern Humanities, and Foundations of Chinese Civilization. Reed College has produced more than 90 Fulbright Scholars, 67 Watson Fellows, 3 MacArthur Fellows, and 32 Rhodes Scholars. The school is currently ranked the 52nd best college in the country by Forbes, while Newsweek declared it to be one of the 25 "new Ivies" back in 2006.

20-year Net ROI: $108,000
Evergreen State College was founded in 1967 as an experiment in non-traditional education. Considering this public liberal arts college consistently ranks among the very best in the nation in categories ranging from the best first-year experiences to the best master's degree programs for teaching, we'd say the experiment has been a success.

20-year Net ROI: $100,000
Colorado College, a beautiful liberal arts college located in Colorado Springs, has been ranked the 24th best liberal arts college in the country by U.S. News & World Report. That same publication declared Colorado College the 2nd most innovative liberal arts college in recognition of the school's "curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology, and facilities." Speaking of curriculum, Colorado College follows a unique block plan in which students study only a single subject for an intensive three-and-a-half week period.

20-year Net ROI: $97,100
Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mills College is a women's liberal arts school with a strong tradition in academic excellence. The college offers more than 60 majors and minors, and besides the usual liberal arts degrees in the humanities, students can choose to major in nursing, psychology, or biology, among others. Mills consistently ranks among the best schools in the country. Most recently, U.S. News & World Report included it on its lists of best universities in the West (#5) and Best Value Schools (#1).

20-year Net ROI: $85,000
Considered to be one of the "West Coast Ivy-League" equivalent schools, Pitzer College was an easy addition to our list of the best liberal arts colleges in the West. As part of the Claremont Colleges consortium, Pitzer allows its students to cross-register in classes at Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pomona, and Scripps — all liberal arts schools that are also included on our list. Pitzer excels in fields relating to social and behavioral sciences, and is currently ranked #32 on U.S. News & World Report's list of the country's best liberal arts colleges.

20-year Net ROI: $29,000
Prescott College is a unique private liberal arts college located in Prescott, Arizona. The school — which operates under the motto "For the Liberal Arts, the Environment, and Social Justice" — offers its 1,200 students the choice of three Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees (creative writing, visual arts, and interdisciplinary arts & letters), or a Bachelor of Arts or Science in Environmental Studies. The latter is especially popular, a fact that is hardly surprising when you consider that nearly all of Prescott's environmentally friendly campus consists of buildings that have been recycled or converted from their original purposes.

20-year Net ROI: No data listed
Soka University of America, located in Aliso Viejo, California, is associated with the much larger Soka University of Japan. Both universities are liberal arts colleges that focus on the principles of pacifism, human rights, and the co-existence of humans and nature. Unlike the traditional American university, Soka University of America offers just one degree — a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts — though students choose to "track" or focus in either environmental studies, humanities, international studies, or social & behavioral sciences. Interestingly, Soka was the first liberal arts university in the country to require its students to study abroad at some point before graduation.

20-year Net ROI: No data listed
Like many other top liberal arts colleges, St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico has a core curriculum that focuses on the Great Books of the Western Heritage. Like the 17th century King William's School, students at this top liberal arts college work towards a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts by reading and discussing the most acclaimed works of western civilization. St. John's is currently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the 83rd best liberal arts college in the country.

20-year Net ROI: No data listed
Some may be surprised to see the United States Air Force Academy on a list of the best liberal arts colleges in the West, but sure enough, this prestigious institution has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the 32nd best liberal arts college in the country. All cadets must complete the same humanities-heavy core curriculum, after which they can choose a specialized field of study from more than 30 majors. While pursuing academics, cadets also participate in four years of training and athletics.