College ROI

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Indiana University-South Bend

South Bend, IN 3,933 Undergrads 40.2% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$17,364
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$8,653
After Aid
Median Earnings
$55,103
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$8,653
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$55,103
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$44,947
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate40.2%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Warning: The majority of students at this institution do not graduate. Non-completers typically earn significantly less and face higher debt risks.
Average Starting Age22.3
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients43.0%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time78.1%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS70.3%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
83.8%
SAT Avg
1,081
SAT Reading
25th: 48055075th: 610
SAT Math
25th: 47053575th: 580
ACT Composite
25th: 212175th: 23

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)
⚠️ Caution: Underlying earnings data reflects graduates only. This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate this ROI.

Institution Lifetime NPV
Vs Median Peer
Vs HS Grad
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
+$496k
+$29k
+$12k
Median Cost$9k/yr
+$465k
-$2k
-$20k
Full Cost$17k/yr
+$433k
-$33k
-$51k

ROI Efficiency Metrics
⚠️ Caution: Underlying earnings data reflects graduates only. This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate this ROI.

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
51
∞
Median Cost$9k/yr
Never
-63%
Full Cost$17k/yr
Never
-82%
Analysis Assumptions:
  • Starting Salary: Estimated from the 4-year post-graduation median earnings (assuming 2% annual growth from graduation).⚠️ Warning: The high average starting age or low completion rate may inflate the Median earnings and ROI shown.
  • 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
⚠️ Caution: Underlying earnings data reflects graduates only. This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate this ROI.

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-39%

Gov. Pell Grant ROINew
⚠️ Caution: Underlying earnings data reflects graduates only. This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate this ROI.

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-50%
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
⚠️ Caution: Underlying earnings data reflects graduates only. This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate this ROI.

Certificates

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $54,445
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,556
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $59,299
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,747
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,906
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Associate's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$58,887
Natl Median: $65,389
Lifetime Value Added
+$118k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,125
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Bachelor's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$71,862
Natl Median: $70,786
Lifetime Value Added
+$113k
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
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,466
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$23,449
Earnings (4yr)
$56,512
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
-$8k
Median Debt
$19,949
Earnings (4yr)
$64,275
Natl Median: $68,407
Lifetime Value Added
+$54k
Chemistry
BachCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,120
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $75,975
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$23,500
Earnings (4yr)
$44,703
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
-$107k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $92,374
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Computer Science
BachCIP: 1107
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$99,574
Natl Median: $107,009
Lifetime Value Added
+$324k
Median Debt
$16,500
Earnings (4yr)
$51,778
Natl Median: $55,378
Lifetime Value Added
-$47k
Median Debt
$21,500
Earnings (4yr)
$61,436
Natl Median: $68,061
Lifetime Value Added
+$32k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $39,775
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $82,686
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $89,359
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $48,590
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,710
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$23,676
Earnings (4yr)
$38,663
Natl Median: $41,367
Lifetime Value Added
-$158k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,459
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$22,603
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $61,296
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$21,964
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
-$297k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $68,069
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$20,444
Earnings (4yr)
$48,815
Natl Median: $53,072
Lifetime Value Added
-$72k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $86,176
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
Physics
BachCIP: 4008
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $76,786
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$44,071
Natl Median: $63,293
Lifetime Value Added
-$119k
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$21,793
Earnings (4yr)
$46,521
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$91k
Public Health
BachCIP: 5122
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$61,468
Natl Median: $58,808
Lifetime Value Added
+$22k
Median Debt
$18,062
Earnings (4yr)
$36,711
Natl Median: $50,497
Lifetime Value Added
-$175k
Median Debt
$18,905
Earnings (4yr)
$84,541
Natl Median: $88,910
Lifetime Value Added
+$209k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$28,960
Natl Median: $55,000
Lifetime Value Added
-$233k
Social Work
BachCIP: 4407
Median Debt
$18,000
Earnings (4yr)
$48,344
Natl Median: $51,790
Lifetime Value Added
-$76k
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $52,657
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,499
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$21,929
Earnings (4yr)
$45,755
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$98k
Median Debt
$25,784
Earnings (4yr)
$47,977
Natl Median: $51,389
Lifetime Value Added
-$79k

Master's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $95,833
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$115,947
Natl Median: $125,988
Lifetime Value Added
+$364k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $71,953
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $71,685
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,512
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,716
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $138,309
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Music
MastCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $48,285
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$47,260
Natl Median: $81,408
Lifetime Value Added
-$231k
Median Debt
$37,451
Earnings (4yr)
$120,931
Natl Median: $120,193
Lifetime Value Added
+$407k
Social Work
MastCIP: 4407
Median Debt
$31,271
Earnings (4yr)
$53,764
Natl Median: $65,123
Lifetime Value Added
-$187k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $64,397
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$56,394
Natl Median: $60,111
Lifetime Value Added
-$162k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $59,916
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Graduate Certificates

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $103,299
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.