College ROI

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Elon University

Elon, NC 6,452 Undergrads 83.0% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$62,266
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$41,555
After Aid
Median Earnings
$77,800
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$41,555
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$77,800
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$74,545
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate83.0%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Average Starting Age19.5
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients9.7%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time97.2%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS79.6%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
66.3%
SAT Avg
1,208
SAT Reading
25th: 580-75th: 650
SAT Math
25th: 550-75th: 630
ACT Composite
25th: 23-75th: 28

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
+$673k
+$207k
+$189k
Median Cost$42k/yr
+$524k
+$57k
+$40k
Full Cost$62k/yr
+$449k
-$17k
-$35k

ROI Efficiency Metrics

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
28
∞
Median Cost$42k/yr
49
26%
Full Cost$62k/yr
Never
-16%
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 Return62%

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-45%
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
$20,000
Earnings (4yr)
$105,707
Natl Median: $76,194
Lifetime Value Added
+$252k
Anthropology
BachCIP: 4502
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $46,676
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Applied Mathematics
BachCIP: 2703
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $91,532
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management
BachCIP: 5010
Median Debt
$26,044
Earnings (2yr)
$29,685
Natl Median: $48,240
Lifetime Value Added
-$344k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$53,185
Natl Median: $44,889
Lifetime Value Added
-$154k
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$23,125
Earnings (4yr)
$53,369
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
-$152k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $68,257
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (4yr)
$88,983
Natl Median: $69,830
Lifetime Value Added
+$125k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $98,158
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Chemistry
BachCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,120
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$21,999
Earnings (4yr)
$73,750
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
+$9k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$64,011
Natl Median: $51,936
Lifetime Value Added
-$66k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $109,015
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (4yr)
$111,448
Natl Median: $83,439
Lifetime Value Added
+$296k
Computer Science
BachCIP: 1107
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $107,009
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Dance
BachCIP: 5003
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$30,771
Natl Median: $39,980
Lifetime Value Added
-$335k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$43,297
Natl Median: $39,775
Lifetime Value Added
-$244k
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (4yr)
$112,303
Natl Median: $82,686
Lifetime Value Added
+$303k
Engineering Physics
BachCIP: 1412
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $89,154
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $89,359
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$68,927
Natl Median: $48,590
Lifetime Value Added
-$28k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$80,850
Natl Median: $61,027
Lifetime Value Added
+$63k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $81,171
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (4yr)
$103,426
Natl Median: $83,343
Lifetime Value Added
+$235k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,367
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$60,586
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
-$103k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $85,294
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$91,132
Natl Median: $73,201
Lifetime Value Added
+$141k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$68,262
Natl Median: $66,596
Lifetime Value Added
-$33k
International/Globalization Studies
BachCIP: 3020
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $59,972
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Journalism
BachCIP: 0904
Median Debt
$18,000
Earnings (4yr)
$69,964
Natl Median: $56,278
Lifetime Value Added
-$20k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,072
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
$20,500
Earnings (4yr)
$95,163
Natl Median: $69,303
Lifetime Value Added
+$172k
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 (5yr)
$61,399
Natl Median: $55,012
Lifetime Value Added
-$97k
Philosophy
BachCIP: 3801
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $54,455
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Physics
BachCIP: 4008
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $76,786
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$20,500
Earnings (4yr)
$89,685
Natl Median: $63,293
Lifetime Value Added
+$130k
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (4yr)
$69,856
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$21k
Public Health
BachCIP: 5122
Median Debt
$20,500
Earnings (4yr)
$81,153
Natl Median: $58,808
Lifetime Value Added
+$65k
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (4yr)
$60,832
Natl Median: $50,497
Lifetime Value Added
-$92k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,390
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $48,471
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$71,121
Natl Median: $55,000
Lifetime Value Added
-$12k
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $52,657
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$39,369
Natl Median: $50,499
Lifetime Value Added
-$257k
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness
BachCIP: 3105
Median Debt
$22,750
Earnings (4yr)
$68,178
Natl Median: $54,562
Lifetime Value Added
-$34k
Statistics
BachCIP: 2705
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $92,425
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$20,000
Earnings (4yr)
$63,041
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$74k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,389
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$24,526
Earnings (5yr)
$16,958
Natl Median: $47,629
Lifetime Value Added
-$471k

Master's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $95,833
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$131,302
Earnings (4yr)
$123,121
Natl Median: $127,347
Lifetime Value Added
+$365k
Median Debt
$60,825
Earnings (4yr)
$105,377
Natl Median: $103,485
Lifetime Value Added
+$211k
Median Debt
$58,814
Earnings (4yr)
$59,583
Natl Median: $75,972
Lifetime Value Added
-$193k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $64,397
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Professional Degrees

Law
ProfCIP: 2201
Median Debt
$119,023
Earnings (4yr)
$82,321
Natl Median: $107,773
Lifetime Value Added
-$187k
Median Debt
$148,375
Earnings (4yr)
$82,774
Natl Median: $81,641
Lifetime Value Added
-$183k

Other Programs

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,308
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.