Fortune · March 2026
How High Point University Turned Life Skills Into a 99% Job Placement Rate
Fortune profiled High Point University® as a private university where graduate outcomes run well ahead of the national trend. Of the Class of 2024, 99.2% were employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of commencement, a figure 14 points above the national average. The reporting credits one decision: HPU builds career readiness into all four years rather than saving it for seniors or business majors.
Students learn directly from Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, HPU’s Innovator in Residence, through the Access to Innovators program. Fortune credits exactly this kind of real-world exposure as a driver behind the Class of 2024’s 99.2% placement rate.
The story centers on HPU’s model as the nation’s Premier Life Skills university. Required courses like the First-Year Seminar on Life Skills, taught by President Nido Qubein and global leaders who are his friend, cover the fundamentals of leadership, fiscal literacy, confidence and effective communication. Through the university’s Access to Innovators program, students learn directly from leaders such as Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, HPU’s Innovator in Residence.
The placement rate is the proof point and the four-year life skills curriculum is the reason behind it. Fortune reports that this approach has made HPU a destination for families who treat a degree as an investment, with enrollment tripling during Qubein’s two decades as president to a record 6,550 students last fall. The recognition adds to a run of national attention for HPU’s results, including its standing as The Princeton Review’s #1 Best-Run College in the Nation and 13 consecutive years as the top Regional College in the South by U.S. News & World Report.
HPU by the Numbers
of the Class of 2024 employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation — reported by Fortune
above the national average for recent graduate outcomes
students enrolled last fall, the largest total enrollment in HPU history
Fortune · March 23, 2026
High Point University has turned ‘life skills’ into a magnet for the Wall Street elite with a 99.2% job placement rate
Fortune’s report opens against a hard backdrop for new graduates. As Gen Z college graduates struggle to jumpstart their careers, skepticism about the value of higher education is reaching new heights. A report from tech education company General Assembly found that fewer than half of all workers, and just 12% of mid-level executives, are confident that entry-level graduates arrive adequately prepared for the workforce.
At High Point University, the Class of 2024 told a different story. Fortune reports that 99.2% of HPU graduates were employed or pursuing further education within six months of commencement, a figure 14 points above the national average. The reporting attributes that result to a single deliberate choice: High Point has built its identity as the nation’s Premier Life Skills university, extending career readiness across all four years, for every student, in every major.
In practice, Fortune explains, that means required courses like Life Skills 101, which President Nido Qubein teaches himself, covering confidence, communication, and personal branding. It means bringing world-class leaders to campus through the Access to Innovators program, including Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, who serves as HPU’s Innovator in Residence, to mentor students directly. And it means lectures and seminars on how to land a job, how to pitch yourself, and how to thrive in the workplace, giving every student tangible tools for turning their education into real-world success.
Fortune builds that case by citing a growing alarm among business leaders about what entry-level graduates are missing. Blackstone President and COO Jon Gray has described what separates people who truly succeed: “It’s not the ‘good enough’ crowd. It’s the people who are like, hey, ‘I’m gonna make sure I get this absolutely right.'” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has argued that a degree that fails to prepare graduates for the jobs they need while leaving them in financial debt “is not good.” HPU’s answer, as Fortune reports: “HPU is about more than degrees; it’s about life skills. Our students learn practical wisdom and career skills that prepare them for success in any field.”
Fortune also documents HPU’s growth. Under Qubein’s 20-year tenure, the student body has tripled. Last fall, the university welcomed its largest class of first-year students and its largest total enrollment in history, reaching 6,550 students. “Half of Wall Street sends their kids to this school,” Qubein told The Wall Street Journal, a line Fortune quotes prominently. That growth has come even as more than 80 public or nonprofit colleges have announced closures or mergers since 2020.
Fortune closes by examining the investments HPU has made in campus life, including a mock airplane cabin designed to help students practice networking for chance encounters at 30,000 feet. A High Point University spokesperson told Fortune: “It’s clear that students and parents expect maximum return on investment from a college education. It’s also clear that employers need graduates who have not only technical skills but also life skills that outlast technical skills, which are constantly changing.”
President Nido Qubein, as quoted in Fortune
“We are not in the business of pampering students. We are in the business of preparing our students.”