College ROI

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Lake Superior State University

Sault Ste Marie, MI 1,325 Undergrads 56.9% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$27,154
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$12,822
After Aid
Median Earnings
$56,687
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$12,822
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$56,687
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$49,045
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate56.9%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Average Starting Age21.4
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients32.3%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time87.3%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS72.4%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
100.0%
SAT Avg
-
SAT Reading
25th: -53575th: -
SAT Math
25th: -52075th: -
ACT Composite
25th: -2375th: -

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
+$509k
+$42k
+$25k
Median Cost$13k/yr
+$463k
-$4k
-$22k
Full Cost$27k/yr
+$411k
-$56k
-$73k

ROI Efficiency Metrics

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
45
∞
Median Cost$13k/yr
Never
-47%
Full Cost$27k/yr
Never
-75%
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-38%

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-62%
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

Certificates

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $57,702
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,705
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,073
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Associate's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $47,660
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,389
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,927
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $54,726
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$14,000
Earnings (4yr)
$57,894
Natl Median: $46,706
Lifetime Value Added
+$101k
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General
AssocCIP: 1500
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $62,343
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Engineering, General
AssocCIP: 1401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $72,916
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Fire Protection
AssocCIP: 4302
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$73,140
Natl Median: $73,589
Lifetime Value Added
+$228k
Homeland Security
AssocCIP: 4303
Median Debt
$21,875
Earnings (4yr)
$65,738
Natl Median: $58,829
Lifetime Value Added
+$174k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $73,593
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$16,523
Earnings (4yr)
$38,997
Natl Median: $44,125
Lifetime Value Added
-$85k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $40,734
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $45,634
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $62,755
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Social Work
AssocCIP: 4407
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $39,409
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness
AssocCIP: 3105
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $40,162
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $37,656
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Bachelor's Degrees

Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (4yr)
$60,167
Natl Median: $76,194
Lifetime Value Added
+$7k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $70,786
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$46,435
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
-$107k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$53,396
Natl Median: $68,257
Lifetime Value Added
-$49k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$32,925
Natl Median: $68,407
Lifetime Value Added
-$212k
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
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $109,015
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Computer Science
BachCIP: 1107
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $107,009
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $73,587
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$22,500
Earnings (4yr)
$58,286
Natl Median: $55,378
Lifetime Value Added
-$9k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $48,842
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $100,647
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians
BachCIP: 1503
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $84,599
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $61,027
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $83,343
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Fire Protection
BachCIP: 4302
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$70,707
Natl Median: $86,436
Lifetime Value Added
+$78k
Median Debt
$22,500
Earnings (4yr)
$44,090
Natl Median: $47,243
Lifetime Value Added
-$127k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$56,905
Natl Median: $60,190
Lifetime Value Added
-$20k
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Homeland Security
BachCIP: 4303
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $70,193
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $80,890
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $73,201
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$21,508
Natl Median: $53,072
Lifetime Value Added
-$316k
Literature
BachCIP: 2314
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $46,173
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$60,340
Natl Median: $69,303
Lifetime Value Added
-$2k
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,562
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$90,216
Natl Median: $92,135
Lifetime Value Added
+$238k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,693
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,012
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,468
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,293
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$52,046
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$68k
Median Debt
$25,000
Earnings (4yr)
$70,959
Natl Median: $88,910
Lifetime Value Added
+$91k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $48,471
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,366
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,499
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness
BachCIP: 3105
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $54,562
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$35,060
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$192k

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.