College ROI

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Dominican University

River Forest, IL 2,561 Undergrads 59.4% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$43,891
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$11,745
After Aid
Median Earnings
$59,507
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$11,745
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$59,507
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$60,327
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate59.4%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Average Starting Age21.7
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients52.4%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time96.5%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS79.6%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
90.3%
SAT Avg
1,002
SAT Reading
25th: 46052075th: 560
SAT Math
25th: 42051575th: 540
ACT Composite
25th: 162575th: 26

ROI Sensitivity Analysis
Assuming 4 Years to Graduation

This analysis tests three cost scenarios (Scholarship, Average Net Price, Full Sticker Price) to show how college costs impact your long-term return compared to the average student and a high school graduate.

Lifetime Value Added (NPV)

Institution Lifetime NPV
Vs Median Peer
Vs HS Grad
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
+$532k
+$65k
+$47k
Median Cost$12k/yr
+$489k
+$23k
+$5k
Full Cost$44k/yr
+$374k
-$93k
-$111k

ROI Efficiency Metrics

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
38
∞
Median Cost$12k/yr
59
12%
Full Cost$44k/yr
Never
-70%
Analysis Assumptions:
  • Starting Salary: Estimated from the 4-year post-graduation median earnings (assuming 2% annual growth from graduation).
  • Comparisons: "Vs Median Peer" compares to the median student nationwide in a similar level program. "Vs HS Grad" compares to a median high school graduate.
  • Break-Even: The age at which the college investment net income exceeds the median high school graduate's lifetime earnings.
  • NPV: Net Present Value of all future earnings minus costs and taxes, discounted at 7.8%.

Social Impact ROINew

Measures the societal return on a donor's investment. Calculated as the incremental pre-tax lifetime earnings vs. HS grad, divided by the tax-adjusted donation cost.

Donor Return-36%

Gov. Pell Grant ROINew

Measures the government's return on Pell Grants via increased tax revenue. Calculated as the portion of incremental lifetime taxes (discounted at 5.4%) attributed to the Pell Grant investment.

Taxpayer Return-70%
Important Note: Your ROI with any major will depend on the cost you pay to attend the program, and your starting salary. Both vary significantly across institutions. We encourage you to explore the ROI of a specific program variant by selecting the Program title of the credential level you are interested in. You will then have a more detailed return analysis for programs at specific institutions. We also encourage you to use the ROI calculator, or for more sophisticated analysis, the Guided ROI Interview, with your specific estimates of cost and salary.

Program ROI Analysis

Bachelor's Degrees

Median Debt
$25,000
Earnings (4yr)
$77,878
Natl Median: $76,194
Lifetime Value Added
+$147k
Area Studies
BachCIP: 0501
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,625
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,891
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$25,117
Earnings (4yr)
$46,040
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
-$106k
Median Debt
$25,000
Earnings (4yr)
$66,871
Natl Median: $68,257
Lifetime Value Added
+$63k
Chemistry
BachCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,120
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $92,374
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Computer Science
BachCIP: 1107
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$86,730
Natl Median: $107,009
Lifetime Value Added
+$215k
Criminology
BachCIP: 4504
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (4yr)
$52,775
Natl Median: $55,556
Lifetime Value Added
-$50k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $47,668
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$26,344
Earnings (4yr)
$47,930
Natl Median: $51,490
Lifetime Value Added
-$90k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$55,402
Natl Median: $55,856
Lifetime Value Added
-$37k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $39,775
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$54,644
Natl Median: $82,686
Lifetime Value Added
-$16k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$46,780
Natl Median: $48,590
Lifetime Value Added
-$100k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,710
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $43,765
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $83,343
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$65,844
Natl Median: $61,911
Lifetime Value Added
+$45k
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $48,597
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $73,201
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $66,596
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Journalism
BachCIP: 0904
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,278
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,072
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,303
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,562
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Music
BachCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $42,892
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,012
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Natural Sciences
BachCIP: 3018
Median Debt
$25,109
Earnings (4yr)
$56,555
Natl Median: $57,935
Lifetime Value Added
-$19k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $62,451
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Non-Professional Legal Studies
BachCIP: 2200
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $61,959
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Nutrition Sciences
BachCIP: 3019
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$57,532
Natl Median: $60,053
Lifetime Value Added
-$11k
Philosophy
BachCIP: 3801
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $54,455
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,293
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$22,858
Earnings (4yr)
$51,093
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$64k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,560
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$23,000
Earnings (4yr)
$80,703
Natl Median: $88,910
Lifetime Value Added
+$169k
Median Debt
$26,246
Earnings (4yr)
$60,311
Natl Median: $55,000
Lifetime Value Added
+$12k
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$54,686
Natl Median: $52,657
Lifetime Value Added
-$34k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,499
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$26,585
Earnings (4yr)
$47,078
Natl Median: $59,631
Lifetime Value Added
-$98k
Median Debt
$26,500
Earnings (4yr)
$53,810
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$41k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,535
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Post-Baccalaureate Certificates

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $61,571
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Nutrition Sciences
PB-CertCIP: 3019
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,974
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Master's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $95,833
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$142,027
Earnings (4yr)
$134,175
Natl Median: $127,347
Lifetime Value Added
+$516k
Median Debt
$35,603
Earnings (4yr)
$80,127
Natl Median: $103,485
Lifetime Value Added
+$45k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$64,660
Natl Median: $62,269
Lifetime Value Added
-$92k
Dispute Resolution
MastCIP: 3028
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$75,828
Natl Median: $74,725
Lifetime Value Added
+$7k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$84,653
Natl Median: $69,767
Lifetime Value Added
+$114k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $70,644
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$37,998
Earnings (4yr)
$54,946
Natl Median: $56,301
Lifetime Value Added
-$181k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $106,092
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Social Work
MastCIP: 4407
Median Debt
$41,167
Earnings (4yr)
$63,207
Natl Median: $65,123
Lifetime Value Added
-$105k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$76,142
Natl Median: $64,397
Lifetime Value Added
+$10k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$72,425
Natl Median: $59,916
Lifetime Value Added
-$23k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$71,659
Natl Median: $61,855
Lifetime Value Added
-$42k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,767
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Doctoral Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $88,805
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Other Programs

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $57,802
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,231
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Note: Lifetime Value Added is the Net Present Value (NPV) of estimated career earnings relative to a median high school graduate (for undergraduate programs) or a median bachelor's degree holder (for graduate programs), accounting for this institution's average cost and taxes. Computed over a career to retirement age.

For graduate programs (Master's, Doctoral, etc.), the calculation assumes a starting age of 22 (after undergraduate completion) and does not include the sunk costs of prior degrees. It represents the value added of the graduate decision moving forward. Note that the institution's average undergraduate net price is used as a proxy for annual cost, which may differ from actual graduate tuition. These Lifetime Value Added results for graduate degrees should not be compared with those for Undergraduate Certificates, Associates or Bachelors.

Completers Only: Federal median earnings data strictly reflects outcomes for students who successfully graduated. Students who do not complete their degree typically earn significantly less and face higher risks of debt default.