Your early education greatly affects how and what you learn, as well as if and where you go to college.

Some families are so intent on sending their kids to the best schools that they relocate to join new school districts.

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools, just released its ranking of the 2016 best school districts in America. The ranking was based on the grade each school district earned in overall experience, which included key factors such as the strength of academics, quality of teachers, school resources, student culture and diversity, student life, and student and parent reviews.

At the time of calculation, Niche's database contained records for 12,153 school districts — ones without sufficient data were not included in the ranking. Read more on the methodology here.

Below are the 25 best school districts in the US.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best public high schools in America

DON'T MISS: The best college in every state

25. Township High School District No. 113 — Highland Park, IL

Total schools: 2

Academics: A+

Teachers: A+

Resources & facilities: A

Student culture & diversity: B-

Extracurriculars at Deerfield High School are abundant, one commenter said: "We have everything from book club, anime club, Athletics, gima, model UN, movie club, environmental club, choraliers, plays/musicals, truly you name it."

One senior at Highland Park High School said that every teacher "wants the students to succeed" and that they "structure their classes in ways that help their students learn and retain the material in an easy way."

24. Aspen School District — Aspen Township, CO

Total schools: 5

Academics: A+

Teachers: A+

Resources & facilities: A+

Student culture & diversity: B

"The student-teacher dynamic is incredible. Most teachers are familiar enough with their students to respond to their first names, rather than their surnames," one Aspen High School junior commented. "They also offer help during office hours with understanding, and tend to be sympathetic towards scheduling issues involving IB classes and the even distribution of work. The student body is generally accepting of sexual orientation, racial, and socioeconomic differences."

23. Hinsdale Township High School District No. 86 — Downers Grove Township, IL

Total schools: 2

Academics: A+

Teachers: A+

Resources & facilities: A+

Student culture & diversity: A-

One senior at Hinsdale Central High School commented that "there is a constant competitive atmosphere [but it] pushes kids to do better since all their peers are trying to do the same. The majority of the students are working towards a mutual goal, that is going to a good college."

Commenters also said that safety at the high school is important.

"The nurse is always available, the school psychiatrists are great, and social workers are decent. I never felt threatened there," said one user.

Technology companies, especially the big names that populate Silicon Valley, are known for their modern offices, over-the-top perks, and higher-than-average salaries. So it came as no surprise that several tech giants claimed spots on our recent list of the 50 best companies to work for in America.

To compile the list, Business Insider teamed up with PayScale, a compensation software and data firm, to find dream-job companies where a premium is placed on employee satisfaction. 

PayScale ranked companies on the 2015 Fortune 500 list against its salary and survey database, homing in on six criteria: high job satisfaction, low job stress, ability to telecommute, high job meaning, experienced median pay (for employees with at least five years of experience), and whether a company pays above or below market price for their employees. Read a detailed breakdown of the methodology here.

When we homed in on just technology companies, Google remained firm at No. 1, followed by cyber-security company Symantec and Facebook in second and third. Keep reading to check out the full list of the 14 best tech companies to work for in America. 

SEE ALSO: The 50 best companies to work for in America

DON'T MISS: The 50 most powerful companies in America

14. EMC

Headquarters: Hopkinton, Massachusetts

Experienced median pay: $117,000

High job satisfaction: 76% of employees

EMC's company culture hinges on the principles of camaraderie and teamwork. When new employees enter the information-technology company, they are assigned an "alum chum" to help them navigate and get settled. Teams also participate in bonding activities such as softball or soccer games and lunch-and-learn sessions. Many EMC employees can take advantage of the ability to work remotely as well, a perk 50% of the company enjoys.

13. Apple

Headquarters: Cupertino, California

Experienced median pay:$127,000

High job satisfaction: 70% of employees

Though a competitive and demanding place to work — only 6% of employees rated their jobs as low stress, according to PayScale — Apple treats its employees incredibly well, with perks like discounts on Apple products, robust health benefits (even for part-time Apple-store workers), and on-site "beer bashes." CEO Tim Cook addressed the company's commitment to employee diversity in a letter on Apple's website, stating that in 2015 35% of new hires were women and 43% were minorities.

12. Texas Instruments

Headquarters:Dallas, Texas

Experienced median pay: $101,000

High job satisfaction: 73% of employees

The electronics company — the third-largest semiconductor maker in the world — has offices across the globe in countries such as Germany, Israel, China, and Japan. According to PayScale, the highest average salaries at Texas Instruments belong to analog- and mixed-signal design engineers, who make about $97,000 a year. The company's 30,000 employees are expected to maintain the core values of "integrity, innovation, and commitment."

Yes, it's important to find a job that offers meaningful work, high job satisfaction, and great benefits. But that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice a hefty paycheck. 

Business Insider recently teamed up with PayScale, a compensation software and data company, to compile its list of the 50 best companies to work for in America. The list focused on dream-job companies where a premium is placed on employee satisfaction, but a major piece of the ranking also centered on another important factor: pay. 

We pulled out the companies that offer the highest median pay to employees with at least five years experience, and, unsurprisingly, tech companies dominated the top of the list. Google — which also earned the No. 1 spot on the overall ranking — touts the highest experienced median pay at $140,000, followed by Salesforce.com and Facebook, offering $136,000 and $135,000, respectively. 

Keep reading to check out the full list of the best places to work where you can also earn a pretty penny. 

SEE ALSO: The 50 best companies to work for in America

DON'T MISS: The 50 most powerful companies in America

25. (TIE) PPL

Headquarters: Allentown, Pennsylvania

Experienced median pay:$103,000

High job satisfaction: 77% of employees

Electric utility PPL — formerly Pennsylvania Power and Light — employs 13,000 people across its three regional energy entities in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and the UK. The most frequently hired positions include engineers, finance and accounting professionals, and plant operators. PayScale reports that 19% of employees consider their job low stress.

25. (TIE) Motorola Solutions

Headquarters:Schaumburg, Illinois

Experienced median pay: $103,000

High job satisfaction: 73% of employees

The telecommunications company's emphasis on flexibility allows 49% of its employees to work from home. Motorola employees also receive about 3.5 weeks of paid vacation on average.

This emphasis on work-life balance has helped Motorola retain its workforce. More than half of employees have worked at the company for more than a decade, and nearly one-quarter of employees have worked at the company for more than 20 years, according to PayScale.

23. (TIE) AbbVie

Headquarters:North Chicago, Illinois

Experienced median pay: $107,000

High job satisfaction: 67% of employees

The pharmaceutical company, which makes blockbuster autoimmune-disease drug Humira, typically pays its employees 6% above the market compared to similar companies. In April, AbbVie announced that it is teaming up with the University of Chicago for a five-year deal to collaborate on cancer research.

Safety is a primary and constant concern for many college students and parents. Campus-security presence, emergency procedures, local and campus crime rates, and drug and alcohol use are factors that determine the level of safety on a college campus.

College-review site Niche used the above factors to compile their 2016 ranking of the safest college campuses in America. Schools with high health and safety scores and low crime, among other factors, were ranked safest by Niche. Read about their full methodology here.

Unsurprisingly, many of the safest campuses are faith-based colleges and universities that prohibit the use of drugs and alcohol, while schools notorious for their party scene didn't fair as well.

Brigham Young University, affiliated with the Mormon faith, came in as the safest campus in the nation, followed by Summit University, formerly known as Baptist Bible College & Seminary, and Regent University. Scroll through to check out the rest of the top 25.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best school districts in America

DON'T MISS: The 50 most underrated colleges in America

25. Milligan College — Milligan College, TN

Health and safety: A

Drug safety: A

Party scene: C

Students at Milligan College report feeling safe on campus: "Almost all of campus is very well lit and the surrounding community doesn't tend to pose any type of security problems involving the campus."

In addition, drugs and alcohol are prohibited on campus, according to one sophomore.

24. The Baptist College of Florida — Graceville, FL

Health and safety: A

Drug safety: N/A

Party scene: C-

The Baptist College of Florida stresses to its students that drugs and alcohol are not allowed on campus.

"Students are understanding of a clean lifestyle. Students are highly active in fitness sports and just hanging out with friends without the assistance of any other influence," said a sophomore.

23. Penn State Abington — Abington, PA

Health and safety: A

Drug safety: A

Party scene: C

A Penn State Abington senior recently commented that the "school is in a safe town, and being on campus is the safest place I feel right now."

Students also added that there is "rarely ever any talk of drugs on campus, and if there is it's usually about Drug Safety."

Between commercial and investment banks, insurance providers, and mortgage companies, there's a wide range of opportunity for work in the financial sector.

But the best finance companies to work for are the ones that offer employees great benefits, a big paycheck, high job satisfaction, and low stress, according to a recent list of the best companies to work for in America by Business Insider and PayScale. (Read a detailed breakdown of how we ranked the companies here.)

For this list, we've highlighted the nine best financial services companies from the top-65 best companies to work for. The list includes banking giants like Capital One and American Express as well as niche companies like United Services Automobile Association, or USAA, which provides financial services exclusively to military families.

Keep reading to learn more about the best employers in finance:

NOW READ: The 50 best companies to work for in America

AND: 14 of the best companies to work for if you hate stress

9. Capital One Financial

Headquarters: McLean, Virginia

Experienced median pay: $96,100

High job satisfaction: 66% of employees

The financial services company specializes in banking, credit cards, and home and auto loan services and counts 45,000 employees in the US, Canada, and the UK. Employees at the corporate office in Virginia enjoy a casual atmosphere and are encouraged to take advantage of Capital One's bevy of benefits, including a healthy living rewards and incentive program.

8. Fidelity National Financial

Headquarters: Jacksonville, Florida

Experienced median pay: $96,300

High job satisfaction: 73% of employees

Fidelity National Financial — a financial conglomerate comprised of leading mortgage technology and title insurance companies — has a near equal gender breakdown with 51% male and 49% female employees. Despite the demands of working in finance, 25% of employees reported an ability to work remotely and 10% of employees reported that their job is low stress, according to PayScale.

7. Principal Financial Group

Headquarters:Des Moines, Iowa

Experienced median pay: $71,800

High job satisfaction: 74% of employees

The investment management company specializing in retirement services has a vibrant corporate culture with perks that include no-meeting Fridays, multicultural celebrations, and mentoring programs. Employees also enjoy volunteer time off to work with causes in the local community, with 3,700 employees logging nearly 25,000 hours of service in 2014.

Even straight out of school, earning an MBA means a healthy salary bump for graduates, especially in lucrative industries like consulting.

And with increasing demand for management consultants, elite firms are doling out hefty compensation packages to stay competitive and attract top talent. In fact, at many places, the base pay for MBAs starts at $140,000 — more than $60,000 higher than the starting salaries that many candidates earn right out of college.

Management Consulted, a company that helps candidates land consulting jobs, compiled the top salaries earned by graduates in their first year out of business school at 17 leading consulting firms. To determine these figures, it culled through data from clients, spoke with industry insiders, and pored over real offer letters from readers.

It's important to note that these represent maximum salary packages, not average compensation. Typically, only the top employees receive the full amount, with most employees earning significantly less.

Read one to see the consulting firms in which MBAs are raking in the big bucks, ranked by total compensation:

SEE ALSO: 22 MBA programs where graduates earn more than $110,000 right out of school

DON'T MISS: The 50 best business schools in the world

17. Mercer

Total compensation: up to $124,400

Signing bonus: $20,000
Base: $87,000
Performance bonus: up to $17,400

16. Kalypso

Total compensation: up to $150,000

Signing bonus: $15,000
Base: $120,000
Performance bonus: up to $15,000

15. IMS Consulting Group

Total compensation: up to $165,000

Signing bonus: $25,000
Base: $125,000
Performance bonus: up to $15,000

If being cooped up inside an office all day doesn’t sound appealing to you, finding a job where employees are allowed to work from home might be more your speed. Fortunately, many of the country's best employers make workplace flexibility a priority.

Business Insider worked with PayScale, a compensation software and data company, to find the 50 best companies to work for in America— dream-job companies where a premium is placed on employee satisfaction.

To select the companies that are most flexible, we looked at our list to see which had the highest percentage of employees who were able to telecommute. PayScale determined this by looking at the number of respondents who answered, "Yes, I telecommute 100% of the time," or "Yes, I telecommute most of the time," or "Yes, I telecommute some of the time," to the question, "Are you able to telecommute/work from home?" We ranked the top-15, giving the tie-breaker to the companies that performed better on the overall list of best employers. Read a detailed breakdown of the ranking's methodology here.

Check out which of America's best employers are the most flexible below:

SEE ALSO: The 50 best companies to work for in America

15. NetApp

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California

Experienced median pay:$129,000

Percent able to telecommute: 36% of employees

NetApp, a data-storage and cloud-management company, has a slew of employee benefits that have become typical of tech companies competing for top talent, including gourmet food and on-site fitness centers, as well as coworker training programs and time off to volunteer.

Senior software engineers draw the largest salaries at NetApp, pulling in $145,000 on average, followed closely by senior product managers, who make $143,000, according to PayScale.

14. CH2M

Headquarters: Englewood, Colorado

Experienced median pay:$87,900

Percent able to telecommute: 36% of employees

CH2M, which recently simplified its name from CH2M Hill, is a global engineering company that offers consulting, design, and construction services and is made up of a community of "skilled and creative problem solvers." The CH2M Foundation supports employee volunteerism and donates to sustainability and STEM education causes around the world.

13. eBay

Headquarters:San Jose, California

Experienced median pay: $125,000

Percent able to telecommute: 36% of employees

The e-commerce platform jumped up 23 spots on our top 50 list this year. The company champions employees to go beyond the work they do in the office and make an impact globally. That includes a "Green Team," in which employees and eBay sellers work together to improve eBay’s sustainability, as well as a match program for philanthropic gifts.

As one of the 10 best colleges in the US, Yale University received more than 30,000 applications for the class of 2019 and accepted about 5% of them.

Part of Yale's allure is the fame and accomplishments of its prominent alumni, who include former presidents, Supreme Court justices, and award-winning journalists.

The current students, some of whom will graduate this month, aim to carry on that legacy of success.

We approached clubs and organizations at Yale and asked them to nominate their best and brightest peers. The group includes budding entrepreneurs, researchers, and an aspiring Olympian.

Here are 13 of the most impressive students at Yale:

SEE ALSO: Impressive students at Stanford

SEE ALSO: Impressive students at Harvard

Rehab Abdelwahab created a nonprofit that helps bring health-education courses to underdeveloped communities.

Class of 2017

Major: Global Affairs Development

Rehab Abdelwahab was born in Egypt and raised in Qatar, and her experience with Egypt's healthcare system, and how it paled in comparison to the US's, inspired her to create Branching Hearts, a nonprofit that works with the International Federation of the Red Cross/Crescent Societies to bring health-education courses to children.

Yale awarded Abdelwahab with two scholarships to spend two months in Ethiopia with the Red Cross and the country's education bureau to help implement health programs in schools throughout the country. During her time there, she also worked at the second-largest hospital in the country restructuring the procedure in which they treat patients based on the severity of their condition.

She's also co-president of Recovered Medical Equipment for the Developing World, an organization that collects unused medical supplies and donates them to partner organizations in developing countries.

Abdelwahab credits growing up in the Middle East for her drive to pursue a career in global health. This summer, she will intern at Results for Development, a nonprofit working to solve public and social problems facing developing nations. Next year, she plans to apply for medical school, but she may also pursue a degree in law or business to maximize the influence she can have on healthcare in the Middle East and Africa.

Mariona Badenas’ research on exoplanets was published in a prominent astrophysics journal.

Class of 2016

Major: Astrophysics

Mariona Badenas' love for astronomy and space brought her from Barcelona, Spain, to Yale to pursue a degree in astrophysics. In the past four years she has conducted research at the Institute of Space Sciences in Spain, the Harvard Center for Astrophysics, MIT, and UC Berkeley. She's focused on researching exoplanets— planets beyond our solar system that orbit a star other than the sun. Her most recent study about planetary systems was published in The Astrophysical Journal.

She's also the only student monitoring Spain's cosmic-ray detector for Energetic Ray Global Observatory, a program that give students all over the world a chance to monitor space particles.

Aside from her work with astrophysics, Badenas took the time to serve as a sous-chef for Yale’s first student-run pop-up restaurant, the Underground Noodle Collective, started with intention of providing students with an alternative to the dining hall.

In the summer, she plans to head to Israel to attend the Space Studies Program, a graduate-level training program held by the International Space Academy. Then she will travel to France to obtain her master's in aeronautical and space systems at the ISAE-SUPAERO. She hopes to work for NASA or the European Space Agency.

Adam Beckman is a global health fellow who will start working at Aledade after graduation.

Class of 2016

Major: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

As a Yale Global Health Fellow, Adam Beckman’s mission is to improve the quality of healthcare in the US. The coauthor of 12 scientific studies, he’s researched everything from trends in hospitalizations to how prisoners get access to the new hepatitis C medication, Sovaldi.

Beckman also cofounded Yale’s Student Partnerships for Global Health, a group he leads that partners with hospitals and clinics to conduct public-health research. The group has conducted research in Ecuador and Nicaragua in recent years. 

When he’s finished with school, Beckman will work with Dr. Farzard Mostashari at Aledade, a company that helps doctors give high-quality healthcare to Medicare patients. He will eventually head to medical school to become a physician.

Business Insider just released its ranking of the 25 best fast-food chains in America. To create the ranking, we collaborated with Restaurant Business, a food-service industry expert and media outlet, and its sister research firm, Technomic, to examine and assess nearly 89 of the largest US chains.

We rated them on three key criteria that we considered the most telling for all-around fast-food excellence: financial performance, customer satisfaction, and overall value.

Here's a deeper look behind the methodology, as explained by Restaurant Business:

Technomic Inc. tracks consumer perceptions of the leading chains in its Consumer Brand Metrics program. The ongoing study includes the top 100 chains by U.S. systemwide sales, plus about 20 additional chains that round out segments, or are particularly fast-growing and expected to land among the top 100 soon. There are 89 limited-service brands, which include quick-service chains like McDonald's and Subway and fast-casual concepts such as Panera Bread and Chipotle.

This ranking is based on an overall score that averages simple rankings of 2015 sales financials (average unit volume, year-over-year change in average unit volume, U.S. systemwide sales, and year-over-year change in sales—all sourced from Technomic's Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report), satisfaction ratings of Consumer Brand Metrics respondents, and value (including overall value ratings in CBM and the chains' average per-person checks). Sales and satisfaction scores are weighted to impact the overall score twice as much as value scores. Because scores are based on rankings, a lower score is better.

Because our financial-performance score considered growth and average sales per location — rather than raw, aggregate sales figures — a number of fast-food giants don't rank as highly as they might have otherwise. Additionally, since our ranking accounted for how happy restaurants make their customers and how much value they provide, regional chains offering a higher-grade product performed better.

No McDonald's, no Wendy's, no Burger King, no KFC, and no Taco Bell. Instead, you get restaurants that customers are truly passionate about: Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane's, In-N-Out, and Jersey Mike's Subs. And while it was too small to make the cut this year, expect Shake Shack to break into the rankings in 2017.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here’s how many calories are in 6 of the most popular fast-food kids meals

Fast food took root in the US the 1950s and has flourished into a $255 billion industry. These restaurants — globally associated with American culture — evoke surprising passion, with many developing a cult-like loyalty from customers. But which chain is the best?

Business Insider teamed up with Restaurant Business, a food-service industry expert and media outlet, to compile a definitive ranking of the best fast-food restaurants in America. Using proprietary data collected by Restaurant Business and its sister research firm Technomic, we looked at nearly 100 of the largest US chains and rated them on three criteria that we considered the most telling for all-around fast-food excellence: financial performance, customer satisfaction, and overall value. Our calculations accounted for sales growth, average sales at each location, consumer-sentiment ratings, and the average cost of a meal, among other metrics. Read more about the methodology here.

Towering sales figures alone weren't enough to make the cut, as a number of fast-food heavyweights — such as McDonald's and Taco Bell — didn't crack the top 25 in our ranking. Rather, customers tend to gravitate toward more specialized and regional brands that offer a higher-quality experience, including fresh, sustainable ingredients, at an affordable price, according to Restaurant Business.

Keep reading to see the 25 best fast-food chains in America in 2016.

DON'T MISS: I've tried nearly every burger on the market — here's who does it best

AND: 15 of the healthiest fast-food menu items

25. Qdoba Mexican Eats

Headquarters: Lakewood, Colorado

US sales: $745 million

Number of US locations: 670

Financial performance rank: 18

Customer satisfaction rank: 40

Value rank: 73

Qdoba grew sales by 9% in 2015, but it can’t seem to shake constant comparisons to Chipotle, which had nearly the same rate of growth last year. The origins of the burrito behemoths are actually quite similar: Qdoba was founded in 1995 in Colorado, two years after and four miles north of the first location of its now faltering competitor. 

But in an effort to distinguish itself, Qdoba announced last October that it would redesign locations and ramp up its menu — which offers tacos, salads, burritos, and quesadillas — based on a new version of its ideal customer, a woman named Quentessa, who’s “naturally magnetic” and leads “a story-filled life.”

24. Ben & Jerry's

Headquarters: South Burlington, Vermont

US sales: $78 million

Number of US locations: 235

Financial performance rank: 89

Customer satisfaction rank: 4

Value rank: 1

After taking a $5 ice-cream-making course at Penn State, best friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield purchased an old gas station and turned it into a scoop shop. Ben & Jerry’s is now known for inventive ice-cream flavors like Cherry Garcia, Phish Food, and Americone Dream.

Almost 40 years in the business, the ice-cream veterans keep finding new ways to bring its most loved products to customers. In May 2016, the company announced it would start “flipping” three of its classic flavors. For instance, the flavor Half Baked has been changed to Totally Baked — instead of brownies in chocolate ice cream and cookie dough in vanilla, the ice-cream-and-baked-good combos will be swapped.

23. Fuddruckers

Headquarters: Houston, Texas

US sales: $253 million

Number of US locations:173

Financial performance rank: 77

Customer satisfaction rank: 8

Value rank: 25

Since its inception, Fuddruckers has aimed to create the “World’s Greatest Hamburgers.” It prides itself on its never-frozen patties, baked-from-scratch buns, and DIY topping bar, ensuring customers get exactly what they want.

Despite slipping US sales — down 1.2% last year — Fuddruckers has accrued a host of loyal customers who flock to the chain for its juicy hamburgers and crisp sesame buns, earning the restaurant a top-notch customer satisfaction rating on Technomic.

When analyzing how well a company pays, salary figures alone don't tell the whole story. Instead, it's important to note how well a company pays compared to competitors in the same industry. 

Business Insider recently released its list of the 50 best companies to work for in America in partnership with compensation software and data company PayScale. The ranking took six factors into account: high job satisfaction, low job stress, ability to telecommute, high job meaning, experienced median pay (for employees with at least five years of experience), and whether a company pays above or below market price for their employees. (You can read the full methodology here.)

The last factor — also referred to as the salary delta — is reflected as a percentage showing how much more or less a company pays compared with their industry. A larger percentage means the employer pays a high premium for talent, and conversely a negative percentage would indicate employees are underpaid. 

We reranked the list based on this metric to find great places to work where employees are compensated well above market value — a premium of at least 10% — breaking any ties using the company's experienced median pay. 

With a salary delta of 25%, social media giant Facebook topped the list, followed by Microsoft and Salesforce.com in second and third. 

Keep reading to see the 22 best companies to work for who pay a premium to attract the best employees. 

SEE ALSO: The 50 best companies to work for in America

DON'T MISS: 14 of the best companies to work for if you hate stress

22. 3M

Headquarters:Maplewood, Minnesota

Experienced median pay: $85,100

Salary delta: 10%

Nearly 90,000 employees are dedicated to this industrial conglomerate's five diverse business groups: consumer, electronics and energy, healthcare, industrial, and safety and graphics. The company also offers a bevy of benefits, including on-site fitness centers, stress-management coaching, and an on-site pharmacy and medical center.

21. Intel

Headquarters: Santa Clara, California

Experienced median pay: $118,000

Salary delta: 10%

Intel wants every employee to build the career of their dreams, and it helps them do it by providing access to career advisers, networking events, certifications, and tuition assistance. Outside of the workday, employees at the semiconductor and computer-technology company enjoy perks such as on-site fitness centers, tickets to local sporting and cultural events, and discounted shopping programs.

20. NetApp

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California

Experienced median pay:$129,000

Salary delta: 10%

NetApp, a data-storage and cloud-management company, has a slew of employee benefits that have become typical of tech companies competing for top talent, including gourmet food and on-site fitness centers, as well as coworker training programs and time off to volunteer.

Senior software engineers draw the largest salaries at NetApp, pulling in $145,000 on average, followed closely by senior product managers, who make $143,000, according to PayScale.

It's a bona fide victory to find a job you're passionate about that comes with solid benefits and a big paycheck. But it's an added bonus to feel like the work you're doing is making a positive impact on the world.

A recent list of the best companies to work for in America published by Business Insider with exclusive data from PayScale ranked the 2015 Fortune 500 companies, homing in on six criteria, including how meaningful employees find their work (read the full methodology here).

Here, we've ranked the top companies to work for by the percentage of employees who say their job has high meaning. The percentage was determined by respondents who work at a given employer who answered "Very much so" or "Yes" to the question, "Does your work make the world a better place?"

Three companies in the healthcare sector tied for the No. 1 spot — Biogen, Eli Lilly, and Gilead Sciences — with 91% of employees reporting high job meaning at their respective companies, all of which are responsible for developing life-changing medications for illnesses ranging from depression to HIV/AIDS to cancer.

Read on to find out the best companies to work for in America where employees find their work meaningful:

NOW READ: The 50 best companies to work for in America

AND: 13 of the happiest companies in America

19. 3M

Headquarters:Maplewood, Minnesota

Experienced median pay: $85,100

High job meaning: 68% of employees

Nearly 90,000 employees are dedicated to this industrial conglomerate's five diverse business groups: consumer, electronics and energy, healthcare, industrial, and safety and graphics. The company also offers a bevy of benefits, including on-site fitness centers, stress-management coaching, and an on-site pharmacy and medical center.

18. Apple

Headquarters: Cupertino, California

Experienced median pay:$127,000

High job meaning: 71% of employees

Though a competitive and demanding place to work — only 6% of employees rated their jobs as low stress, according to PayScale — Apple treats its employees incredibly well, with perks like discounts on Apple products, robust health benefits (even for part-time Apple-store workers), and on-site "beer bashes." CEO Tim Cook addressed the company's commitment to employee diversity in a letter on Apple's website, stating that in 2015 35% of new hires were women and 43% were minorities.

17. Google

Headquarters: Mountain View, California

Experienced median pay: $140,000

High job meaning: 73% of employees

Dethroning last year's No. 1, Facebook, Google earned the title as the best company to work for this year. Notorious for its abundant perks, employees at the search giant can take advantage of free gourmet food, 24/7 tech support, on-site massages, free fitness classes and gym memberships, and a generous vacation plan.

Employees also report that Google — recently renamed Alphabet in a corporate restructuring — allows them flexibility to work on passion projects and feed their creativity. The company continues to grow, adding nearly 9,000 jobs in the last year.

Finding the perfect job can be tough — it can often mean choosing between great benefits, a big paycheck, and doing something you're passionate about. But if you work at the right place, you don't have to choose.

Business Insider teamed up with PayScale, a compensation software and data company, to find dream-job companies where a premium is placed on employee satisfaction.

To create the list, PayScale ranked companies on the 2015 Fortune 500 list against its salary and survey database, homing in on six criteria: high job satisfaction, low job stress, ability to telecommute, high job meaning, experienced median pay (for employees with at least five years of experience), and whether a company pays above or below market price for their employees. Read a detailed breakdown of the methodology here.

Google dethroned last year's No. 1, Facebook, to take the top spot this year, followed by pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb and software company Symantec. Electric utility Southern Co. and Facebook round out the top five.

Keep reading to check out the full list of the best companies to work for in America:

SEE ALSO: The 50 most powerful companies in America

50. Ameren

Headquarters: St. Louis, Missouri

Experienced median pay: $88,100

High job satisfaction: 78% of employees

The holding company oversees operations for Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois, two of the largest energy providers in their respective states. Ameren employs more than 8,500 people, and PayScale reports that 74% of employees say that their job has high meaning.

49. NRG Energy

Headquarters: Houston, Texas, and Princeton, New Jersey

Experienced median pay: $96,700

High job satisfaction: 85% of employees

Employees at green-energy company NRG can take advantage of benefits like college scholarships, rewards for outstanding work, and discounts on appliances and services to make their homes more sustainable, such as solar-panel installation, smart thermostats, and electric vehicles. The company's Houston campus is LEED-certified, and the Princeton headquarters will receive a number of upgrades to make it more environmentally friendly.

48. New York Life Insurance

Headquarters:New York, New York

Experienced median pay: $76,000

High job satisfaction: 76% of employees

New York Life Insurance, one of the largest insurance firms in the world, offers a number of programs to support diversity within the company. It has seven employment-resource groups created to promote inclusion and "a sense of collaboration in the community," including The Women's Initiative, which fosters career development for the company's female employees, who comprise 57% of the company.

The difference between a good and a bad teacher can make or break a class — especially for high-school students in the midst of preparing for college.

As part of their annual public-school rankings, Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools, found the places across the country that boast the highest-caliber public-school teachers.

To compile their rankings, Niche examined over 100,000 schools based on 27 million reviews from more than 300,000 students and parents. Many are charter or magnet schools, meaning they pull in qualified students from around their districts. You can read more about the methodology here.

Each of these schools received an "A+" ranking for their teachers — their numerical Niche scores are also listed below. Many of the schools boast a deep roster of these teachers, too, with student-to-teacher ratios below the national average of 16:1.

Read on to see the top-25 public high schools with the best teachers.

SEE ALSO: The best public high school in every state

DON'T MISS: The 25 best public high schools in New York

25. Academy for Allied Health Science

Scotch Plains, New Jersey

Teacher rating: 93.81

Student-to-teacher ratio: 16:1

Academics: A+

One junior said:

The teachers of this school I would say are some of the best. They never fail to push us to understand the topics at hand and make sure to engage each and every student as much as they can. They make sure we are at the top of our game and as much as we rely on them they [rely on us] as well, asking us questions on how to improve the course and make it better to understand. Overall, they push us to know more than just what is said in a textbook and never fail to give real life examples for better understanding.

24. Granada Hills Charter High School

Granada Hills, California

Teacher rating: 93.82

Student-to-teacher ratio: 27:1

Academics: A+

"Teachers at Granada genuinely care about each of their students and offer assistance concerning any trouble," a student commented. "When confused or need help, they will lend a helping hand and offer tutoring. They are some of the smartest people I know."

Many students also feel prepared for college after their time at Granada Hills.

"I think the teachers were hard working and provided a solid groundwork for students to learn from for the realities of the future," one graduate said.

23. Glenbrook North High School

Northbrook, Illinois

Teacher rating: 93.99

Student-to-teacher ratio: 13:1

Academics: A+ 

"The teachers in our school are passionate about what they teach and although not all the topics learned will pertain to our lives outside of high school, they do their best to apply what we learn to real world situations," one senior said.

Business Insider recently published a list of the 50 best companies to work for in America with exclusive data from PayScale, a compensation software and data company. More than one-quarter of the best companies to work for are in tech, with Google taking the No. 1 spot overall and Facebook coming in at No. 5.

In addition to over-the-top perks, modern offices, and the flexibility to work from home, Silicon Valley's biggest tech companies are also known for their higher-than-average salaries. In this case, every tech company that appears on our list offers an experienced median pay (for employees with at least five years of experience) of more than $100,000, and in some cases, more than $120,000, according to PayScale. We ranked these 14 companies by salary, giving the tie-breaker to whichever one performed better on the overall list of best employers.

Keep reading to check out how much employees make at the best tech companies to work for in America:

DON'T MISS: 14 of the best companies to work for if you hate stress

AND: The 50 best companies to work for in America

14. Texas Instruments

Headquarters:Dallas, Texas

Experienced median pay: $101,000

High job satisfaction: 73% of employees

The electronics company — the third-largest semiconductor maker in the world — has offices across the globe in countries such as Germany, Israel, China, and Japan. According to PayScale, the highest average salaries at Texas Instruments belong to analog- and mixed-signal design engineers, who make about $97,000 a year. The company's 30,000 employees are expected to maintain the core values of "integrity, innovation, and commitment."

13. Advanced Micro Devices

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California

Experienced median pay:$102,000

High job satisfaction: 73% of employees

The semiconductor company aims to push the boundaries of technology and has committed to go green along the way with a tri-fold program that rewards employees who save energy at work, during their commute, and at home. Though the company is only 22% female, according to PayScale, it has established programs for the inclusion of women, like executive mentoring for emerging women leaders and a general women’s forum.

12. Expedia

It might not be hard to find a high-paying job in healthcare — the industry dominates lists of best-paying careers— but finding a healthcare company that pays well and emphasizes employees' happiness is a tall order.

Business Insider teamed up with PayScale, a compensation software and data company, to find the best all-around healthcare companies that pay employees the most. 

To create the list, PayScale ranked companies on the 2015 Fortune 500 list against its salary and survey database, homing in on six criteria: high job satisfaction, low job stress, ability to telecommute, high job meaning, experienced median pay (for employees with at least five years of experience), and whether a company pays above or below market price for their employees. Read a detailed breakdown of the methodology here.

Most of the companies can be found on our ranking of the 50 best companies to work for in America, but we also included couple of great-paying companies that just missed the top-50. 

Here are the best, highest-paying healthcare companies to work for in America:

SEE ALSO: The 50 best companies to work for in America

13. St. Jude Medical

Headquarters:St. Paul, Minnesota

Experienced median pay: $85,700

High job satisfaction: 74% of employees

At the medical-devices manufacturing company, employees are encouraged to take advantage of the LiveWell Program, which lets them get on-site health screenings and free health assessments. PayScale notes that 85% of St. Jude Medical employees felt that their job provided high meaning — one of the best scores for a company ranked in the top 50 list.

12. Biogen

Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Experienced median pay: $93,400

High job satisfaction: 70% of employees

At Biogen, employees feel like they're making a difference, with 91% reporting high job meaning, according to PayScale. The biotechnology company, which develops therapies for neurological and autoimmune diseases, emphasizes giving back to its communities, and every year the company dedicates a "Care Deeply Volunteer Day," where thousands of employees participate in local community-service projects.

11. Abbott Laboratories

Headquarters:Abbott Park, Illinois

Experienced median pay: $93,500

High job satisfaction: 73% of employees

Healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories offers an extensive list of benefits that help keep job satisfaction high. In addition to a number of health and wellness-related programs, the company offers tuition assistance, three weeks of paid vacation for new hires, paternity leave, and an assistance program for mothers to help ease the transition back to work.

At Business Insider, we have interviewed hundreds of job applicants.

We are usually impressed with the calibre of candidates. Most people we meet seem smart and accomplished, and applicants "get" our all-digital, fast-paced, antiboring way of handling business news.

But ... young people are human, too. They make mistakes. And the following mistakes have cost them the jobs their CVs and résumés otherwise said they were good for ...

23. Showing up 20 minutes early.

It may seem like a good idea to show up early, but it puts pressure on the interviewer to meet with you. A time was set for a reason. You should never be late, but five minutes is enough for showing up in advance.

Tip: Find a nearby coffee spot and hang out there until your interview time. 

22. Being too general.

You have one shot to demonstrate your knowledge and skills — so be as specific as you can when answering questions. Don't answer questions with "yes" or "no." The interviewer shouldn't have to feel as if he or she is carrying the conversation.

Tip: Review the projects you're most proud of before heading into an interview. It's easy to forget the details even if it's your own work. 

21. Not bringing a printed CV to your interview.

Bring a printed copy of your CV even if you previously emailed a copy. It shows that you're organised and prepared, and it's less work for the interviewer.

Tip: Bring several copies in case you are being interviewed by more than one person. 

Moviegoing has long been one of America's favorite pastimes, with blockbuster box-office earnings serving as a reliable predictor of cultural staying power.

Using both IMDb's and Box Office Mojo's lists of the highest-grossing films by year, Business Insider has compiled a chronology of the biggest box-office hits every year since 1975.

We adjusted global box-office receipts for inflation through 2016 using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator. We've also included critic ratings from Metacritic (on a scale of one to 100) and fan ratings from IMDb (on a scale of 1 to 10) for each film.

Several franchises are represented — "Star Wars,""Harry Potter," and "Pirates of the Caribbean" each make multiple appearances — as are Academy Award nominees and winners such as "Titanic" and "Rocky."

We used '75 as the cutoff because we found that worldwide figures before then were spotty and inconsistent.

Read on to find out the highest-grossing movie released the year you were born:

DON'T MISS: The 30 most expensive movies ever made

AND: RANKED: The 10 movies most likely to dominate this summer

2015: "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens"

Adjusted gross: $2.07 billion

Unadjusted gross: $2.07 billion

Critic rating: 81

Fan rating: 8.3

Plot summary: "Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a ragtag group of heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance." 

2014: "Transformers: Age of Extinction"

Adjusted gross: $1.12 billion

Unadjusted gross: $1.1 billion

Critic rating: 32

Fan rating: 5.7

Plot summary: "Autobots must escape sight from a bounty hunter who has taken control of the human serendipity: Unexpectedly, Optimus Prime and his remaining gang turn to a mechanic, his daughter, and her back street racing boyfriend for help."

2013: "Frozen"

Adjusted gross: $1.31 billion

Unadjusted gross: $1.28 billion

Critic rating: 74

Fan rating: 7.6

Plot summary: "When the newly crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter, her sister, Anna, teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather condition."

Attending an elite boarding school sets students up for lifelong success. It can open doors to prominent colleges, place students in a powerful alumni network, provide a top-notch education, and create lifelong friends.

Prestige is derived from more than just strong academics, though, so to determine the most elite boarding schools in America, we looked at the size of a school's endowment, how selective it is based on its acceptance rate, and the average SAT score its students earn. To rank the schools, each metric was weighted equally.

Because of the scope of the list, we relied primarily on data from BoardingSchoolReview.com, a website that collects information on boarding schools directly from the institutions. Gaps in the data were confirmed with individual schools or taken from Niche, another organization that researches and compiles information on schools.

For the second year in a row, Phillips Exeter Academy earned the No. 1 spot on the list. Best known for pioneering the Harkness teaching method — a seminar-style class setting where the teacher and students sit around a table and freely discuss subjects — the school is highly selective with a 19% acceptance rate and touts an endowment of $1.15 billion, which is more than most colleges.

Read on to see the rest of the 50 most elite boarding schools in America.

Additional reporting by Andy Kiersz.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best public high schools in America

DON'T MISS: The 50 best colleges in America

50. St. Anne's-Belfield School

Location: Charlottesville, Virginia

Endowment: $32 million

Acceptance rate: 35%

Enrollment:886

Though only 17% of ninth- to 12th-grade students live at St. Anne's-Belfield School, boarders are essential to the school's diversity and inclusivity commitment. St. Anne's-Belfield is also deeply interested in reducing the gender gap in computer-science-related disciplines by mandating technology education courses for all K-12 students, with an emphasis on college prep for the upper school.

49. Shattuck-St. Mary's School

Location: Faribault, Minnesota

Endowment: $25 million

Acceptance rate: 36%

Enrollment:472

Shattuck-St. Mary's School takes a unique approach to education with programs that allow students to learn at their own pace. As part of the school's new ScholarShift program, 11th- and 12th-graders take blended classes that officially meet only twice a week, leaving time for students to speak one-on-one with instructors and pursue outside projects. For such projects, students can use the school's weCreate space, which features studios for video editing, music recording, fashion design, and more.

48. Indian Springs School

Location: Indian Springs, Alabama

Endowment: $12 million

Acceptance rate: 52%

Enrollment:299

Inspired by the motto "learning through living," Indian Springs School takes education outside of the classroom. For instance, the student government is set up like a small town with a mayor and six commissioners and weekly town meetings, placing decision-making power in the hands of the students. The Indian Springs campus is 15 miles from Birmingham, Alabama's biggest city, and its surrounding mountains, spring lake, and state park give students the chance to further explore outside a traditional academic setting.

College may be laden with papers, exams, and long nights in the library, but for many, it's also chock-full of raging parties, intense school spirit, and unforgettable memories with friends. 

To determine which schools have nailed the formula for fun, we looked at 12 categories from The Princeton Review's 2016 college rankings, including lists like "Party Schools" and "Lots of Beer." Since alcohol isn't the only way to have fun, we also included schools that placed on lists like "Happiest Students" and "Best Quality of Life." We then combined these rankings to determine which schools are the most fun overall. You can read the full methodology here.

Based on our results, the typical "fun" school is a large public university with a strong Greek system and competitive athletics. However, several smaller schools with close-knit communities earned spots on the list as well.

Read on to see which 30 schools across the US know how to have the most fun. 

SEE ALSO: The 50 colleges where students work the hardest

DON'T MISS: The best college in every state

30. Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California

Loyola Marymount's Los Angeles location puts students at the forefront of LA culture — not to mention prime access to the beach as well. The warm climate makes hiking, tanning, and enjoying the sun possible year-round.

The school also has strong showings in both Greek life and community-service organizations, with students eager to get involved in their community. 

29. Gonzaga University

Spokane, Washington

Despite a rainy climate, Gonzaga students find plenty of ways to have fun, both indoors and out. During the winter, skiing and snowboarding become popular pastimes, either nearby at Mount Spokane or further away in Montana or Canada.

Nothing's bigger than basketball season, however. Students race across campus and camp out for days to secure tickets, packing the McCarthey Center during every home game. 

28. Wabash College

Crawfordsville, Indiana

Sports are a huge part of life at Wabash College— more than half of the student body plays on one of the school's Division III athletic teams. In return, the all-male campus exudes school spirit for both NCAA and intramural games.