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Iowa State University
Ames, IA 25,033 Undergrads 74.4% Grad Rate
Total Cost
$23,309
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$18,165
After Aid
Median Earnings
$63,386
10yr Post-Entry
Vs. Peer Institutions
Net Price$18,165
Peer Midpoint: $19,729.5
Earnings (10yr)$63,386
Peer Midpoint: $53,747
Graduation Rate74.4%
Peer Midpoint: 58.5%
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients19.0%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time96.0%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS83.6%
Admissions Profile
Acceptance
89.1%
SAT Avg
1,199
SAT Reading
25th: 55059575th: 660
SAT Math
25th: 56061275th: 690
ACT Composite
25th: 212575th: 28
ROI Sensitivity Analysis
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
+$543k
+$147k
+$59k
Median Cost$18k/yr
+$478k
+$81k
-$7k
Full Cost$23k/yr
+$459k
+$63k
-$25k
ROI Efficiency Metrics
Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
36
∞
Median Cost$18k/yr
Never
-10%
Full Cost$23k/yr
Never
-30%
Analysis Assumptions:
- Starting Salary: Estimated from the 10-year 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 Return45%
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-36%
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 with your specific estimates of cost and salary.
Program ROI Analysis
Bachelor's Degrees
Accounting and Related Services
BachCIP: 5203
Median Debt
$22,276
Earnings (5yr)
$73,400
Lifetime Value Added
+$79k
Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
BachCIP: 1402
Median Debt
$26,017
Earnings (5yr)
$92,551
Lifetime Value Added
+$222k
Agricultural Business and Management
BachCIP: 0101
Median Debt
$15,000
Earnings (5yr)
$68,687
Lifetime Value Added
+$44k
Agricultural Engineering
BachCIP: 1403
Median Debt
$20,750
Earnings (5yr)
$77,659
Lifetime Value Added
+$111k
Agricultural Mechanization
BachCIP: 0102
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (5yr)
$73,127
Lifetime Value Added
+$77k
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
BachCIP: 5109
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (5yr)
$53,846
Lifetime Value Added
-$73k
Animal Sciences
BachCIP: 0109
Median Debt
$20,500
Earnings (5yr)
$55,971
Lifetime Value Added
-$56k
Anthropology
BachCIP: 4502
Median Debt
$26,500
Earnings (5yr)
$44,015
Lifetime Value Added
-$154k
Apparel and Textiles
BachCIP: 1909
Median Debt
$21,560
Earnings (5yr)
$50,823
Lifetime Value Added
-$98k
Architecture
BachCIP: 0402
Median Debt
$30,474
Earnings (5yr)
$70,118
Lifetime Value Added
+$54k
Area Studies
BachCIP: 0501
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$65,888
Lifetime Value Added
+$22k
Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
BachCIP: 4004
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$36,848
Lifetime Value Added
-$195k
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology
BachCIP: 2602
Median Debt
$18,950
Earnings (5yr)
$70,190
Lifetime Value Added
+$55k
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$22,375
Earnings (5yr)
$58,585
Lifetime Value Added
-$35k
Business Administration, Management and Operations
BachCIP: 5202
Median Debt
$20,500
Earnings (5yr)
$78,149
Lifetime Value Added
+$115k
Chemical Engineering
BachCIP: 1407
Median Debt
$20,136
Earnings (5yr)
$96,097
Lifetime Value Added
+$249k
Chemistry
BachCIP: 4005
Median Debt
$20,199
Earnings (2yr)
$49,058
Lifetime Value Added
-$87k
City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning
BachCIP: 0403
Median Debt
$24,250
Earnings (5yr)
$61,658
Lifetime Value Added
-$10k
Civil Engineering
BachCIP: 1408
Median Debt
$24,477
Earnings (5yr)
$86,261
Lifetime Value Added
+$175k
Communication and Media Studies
BachCIP: 0901
Median Debt
$16,875
Earnings (5yr)
$55,664
Lifetime Value Added
-$58k
Computer Engineering
BachCIP: 1409
Median Debt
$23,750
Earnings (5yr)
$111,313
Lifetime Value Added
+$363k
Computer Science
BachCIP: 1107
Median Debt
$21,775
Earnings (5yr)
$108,762
Lifetime Value Added
+$344k
Construction Engineering
BachCIP: 1433
Median Debt
$19,609
Earnings (5yr)
$95,401
Lifetime Value Added
+$244k
Design and Applied Arts
BachCIP: 5004
Median Debt
$26,581
Earnings (5yr)
$55,046
Lifetime Value Added
-$63k
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services
BachCIP: 5131
Median Debt
$18,546
Earnings (5yr)
$53,146
Lifetime Value Added
-$79k
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology
BachCIP: 2613
Median Debt
$21,500
Earnings (5yr)
$45,407
Lifetime Value Added
-$142k
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
$21,250
Earnings (5yr)
$81,208
Lifetime Value Added
+$138k
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
BachCIP: 1410
Median Debt
$25,020
Earnings (5yr)
$107,338
Lifetime Value Added
+$333k
Engineering-Related Fields
BachCIP: 1515
Median Debt
$23,250
Earnings (5yr)
$77,775
Lifetime Value Added
+$112k
English Language and Literature, General
BachCIP: 2301
Median Debt
$23,599
Earnings (5yr)
$41,391
Lifetime Value Added
-$176k
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies
BachCIP: 1904
Median Debt
$16,029
Earnings (2yr)
$41,565
Lifetime Value Added
-$153k
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General
BachCIP: 1901
Median Debt
$18,730
Earnings (5yr)
$47,252
Lifetime Value Added
-$127k
Finance and Financial Management Services
BachCIP: 5208
Median Debt
$19,625
Earnings (5yr)
$75,665
Lifetime Value Added
+$96k
Food Science and Technology
BachCIP: 0110
Median Debt
$23,530
Earnings (5yr)
$63,741
Lifetime Value Added
+$6k
Forestry
BachCIP: 0305
Median Debt
$18,750
Earnings (5yr)
$45,342
Lifetime Value Added
-$143k
Genetics
BachCIP: 2608
Median Debt
$21,631
Earnings (5yr)
$55,989
Lifetime Value Added
-$56k
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences
BachCIP: 4006
Median Debt
$24,781
Earnings (5yr)
$54,750
Lifetime Value Added
-$66k
Health and Physical Education/Fitness
BachCIP: 3105
Median Debt
$23,204
Earnings (5yr)
$61,453
Lifetime Value Added
-$12k
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
$22,000
Earnings (5yr)
$46,000
Lifetime Value Added
-$138k
Hospitality Administration/Management
BachCIP: 5209
Median Debt
$20,000
Earnings (5yr)
$52,830
Lifetime Value Added
-$81k
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services
BachCIP: 1907
Median Debt
$20,080
Earnings (5yr)
$45,407
Lifetime Value Added
-$142k
Industrial Engineering
BachCIP: 1435
Median Debt
$23,250
Earnings (5yr)
$88,344
Lifetime Value Added
+$191k
International Agriculture
BachCIP: 0107
Median Debt
$21,500
Earnings (5yr)
$51,601
Lifetime Value Added
-$91k
International Business
BachCIP: 5211
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$55,512
Lifetime Value Added
-$32k
Journalism
BachCIP: 0904
Median Debt
$23,250
Earnings (5yr)
$52,095
Lifetime Value Added
-$87k
Landscape Architecture
BachCIP: 0406
Median Debt
$29,400
Earnings (5yr)
$62,093
Lifetime Value Added
-$7k
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
BachCIP: 2401
Median Debt
$26,768
Earnings (5yr)
$44,888
Lifetime Value Added
-$147k
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services
BachCIP: 1601
Median Debt
$23,250
Earnings (5yr)
$48,394
Lifetime Value Added
-$118k
Management Information Systems and Services
BachCIP: 5212
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$86,010
Lifetime Value Added
+$174k
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
BachCIP: 5213
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$73,057
Lifetime Value Added
+$77k
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
$21,500
Earnings (5yr)
$68,459
Lifetime Value Added
+$42k
Materials Engineering
BachCIP: 1418
Median Debt
$23,000
Earnings (5yr)
$87,838
Lifetime Value Added
+$187k
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
$21,650
Earnings (5yr)
$75,294
Lifetime Value Added
+$93k
Mechanical Engineering
BachCIP: 1419
Median Debt
$22,822
Earnings (5yr)
$88,697
Lifetime Value Added
+$194k
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology
BachCIP: 2605
Median Debt
$22,763
Earnings (5yr)
$60,882
Lifetime Value Added
-$17k
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other
BachCIP: 3099
Median Debt
$25,490
Earnings (5yr)
$59,542
Lifetime Value Added
-$27k
Natural Resources Conservation and Research
BachCIP: 0301
Median Debt
$19,125
Earnings (5yr)
$58,849
Lifetime Value Added
-$33k
Nutrition Sciences
BachCIP: 3019
Median Debt
$14,718
Earnings (5yr)
$54,740
Lifetime Value Added
-$66k
Plant Sciences
BachCIP: 0111
Median Debt
$17,039
Earnings (5yr)
$53,958
Lifetime Value Added
-$72k
Political Science and Government
BachCIP: 4510
Median Debt
$22,250
Earnings (5yr)
$61,481
Lifetime Value Added
-$12k
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$21,000
Earnings (5yr)
$50,080
Lifetime Value Added
-$104k
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
BachCIP: 0909
Median Debt
$23,125
Earnings (5yr)
$63,153
Lifetime Value Added
+$1k
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
BachCIP: 1609
Median Debt
$24,246
Earnings (5yr)
$47,493
Lifetime Value Added
-$125k
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
$19,876
Earnings (5yr)
$57,753
Lifetime Value Added
-$41k
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
BachCIP: 1312
Median Debt
$22,529
Earnings (5yr)
$49,890
Lifetime Value Added
-$105k
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas
BachCIP: 1313
Median Debt
$17,750
Earnings (5yr)
$54,845
Lifetime Value Added
-$65k
Master's Degrees
Accounting and Related Services
MastCIP: 5203
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$88,648
Lifetime Value Added
+$309k
Agricultural Public Services
MastCIP: 0108
Median Debt
$20,177
Earnings (2yr)
$50,439
Lifetime Value Added
-$222
Architecture
MastCIP: 0402
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$47,260
Lifetime Value Added
-$32k
Biology, General
MastCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$22,505
Earnings (2yr)
$25,194
Lifetime Value Added
-$260k
Business Administration, Management and Operations
MastCIP: 5202
Median Debt
$22,707
Earnings (5yr)
$104,181
Lifetime Value Added
+$442k
Civil Engineering
MastCIP: 1408
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$87,741
Lifetime Value Added
+$301k
Design and Applied Arts
MastCIP: 5004
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$54,268
Lifetime Value Added
+$7k
Education, General
MastCIP: 1301
Median Debt
$20,500
Earnings (5yr)
$59,096
Lifetime Value Added
+$51k
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
MastCIP: 1410
Median Debt
$30,724
Earnings (5yr)
$137,692
Lifetime Value Added
+$727k
English Language and Literature, General
MastCIP: 2301
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$58,185
Lifetime Value Added
+$43k
Industrial Engineering
MastCIP: 1435
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$127,889
Lifetime Value Added
+$644k
Mathematics
MastCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$63,005
Lifetime Value Added
+$121k
Mechanical Engineering
MastCIP: 1419
Median Debt
$25,300
Earnings (5yr)
$122,139
Lifetime Value Added
+$595k
Plant Sciences
MastCIP: 0111
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$85,118
Lifetime Value Added
+$278k
Statistics
MastCIP: 2705
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$91,744
Lifetime Value Added
+$383k
Professional Degrees
Veterinary Medicine
ProfCIP: 0180
Median Debt
$138,980
Earnings (5yr)
$108,813
Lifetime Value Added
+$295k
Note: Lifetime Value Added is the Net Present Value (NPV) of estimated career earnings relative to a median high school graduate, 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 degree decision moving forward. These Lifetime Value Added results should not be compared with those Undergraduate Certificates, Associates or Bachelors starting at age 18.