College ROI

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Lone Star College System

The Woodlands, TX 45,188 Undergrads 20.2% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$15,521
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$11,252
After Aid
Median Earnings
$52,634
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$11,252
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$52,634
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$42,466
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate20.2%
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 Age25.3
Warning: High average starting age indicates non-traditional students with prior work experience, which may inflate the median earnings shown.
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients33.9%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time36.1%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS54.4%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
100.0%
SAT Avg
-
SAT Reading
25th: --75th: -
SAT Math
25th: --75th: -
ACT Composite
25th: --75th: -

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
+$476k
+$9k
-$9k
Median Cost$11k/yr
+$435k
-$32k
-$49k
Full Cost$16k/yr
+$420k
-$47k
-$65k

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
Never
-∞
Median Cost$11k/yr
Never
-122%
Full Cost$16k/yr
Never
-116%
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-95%

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-59%
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
$5,500
Earnings (4yr)
$46,136
Natl Median: $44,589
Lifetime Value Added
+$40k
Median Debt
$5,625
Earnings (4yr)
$40,990
Natl Median: $34,272
Lifetime Value Added
-$15k
Median Debt
$5,250
Earnings (4yr)
$82,476
Natl Median: $57,584
Lifetime Value Added
+$407k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,771
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology/Biotechnology Technologies/Technicians
CertCIP: 4101
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,658
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$7,000
Earnings (4yr)
$41,600
Natl Median: $47,440
Lifetime Value Added
-$9k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$41,910
Natl Median: $32,681
Lifetime Value Added
-$14k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$43,120
Natl Median: $50,984
Lifetime Value Added
+$8k
Median Debt
$5,399
Earnings (4yr)
$20,853
Natl Median: $26,307
Lifetime Value Added
-$239k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$32,276
Natl Median: $53,869
Lifetime Value Added
-$118k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,078
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians
CertCIP: 1511
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $62,447
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Fire Protection
CertCIP: 4302
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$66,236
Natl Median: $62,436
Lifetime Value Added
+$236k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,705
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $35,447
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$47,451
Natl Median: $48,148
Lifetime Value Added
+$54k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$71,664
Natl Median: $57,294
Lifetime Value Added
+$302k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$53,690
Natl Median: $49,747
Lifetime Value Added
+$121k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $43,365
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $72,032
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$9,312
Earnings (4yr)
$67,278
Natl Median: $56,073
Lifetime Value Added
+$259k
Median Debt
$3,500
Earnings (4yr)
$53,293
Natl Median: $48,702
Lifetime Value Added
+$117k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $33,711
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$6,750
Earnings (4yr)
$83,636
Natl Median: $80,020
Lifetime Value Added
+$418k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $29,652
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
CertCIP: 4706
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$40,319
Natl Median: $51,586
Lifetime Value Added
-$23k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$49,612
Natl Median: $34,862
Lifetime Value Added
+$78k

Associate's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$37,632
Natl Median: $47,660
Lifetime Value Added
-$96k
Median Debt
$8,042
Earnings (4yr)
$54,262
Natl Median: $42,269
Lifetime Value Added
+$69k
Median Debt
$8,453
Earnings (4yr)
$73,655
Natl Median: $65,389
Lifetime Value Added
+$248k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$9,167
Natl Median: $37,886
Lifetime Value Added
-$392k
Biology, General
AssocCIP: 2601
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,758
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology/Biotechnology Technologies/Technicians
AssocCIP: 4101
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,168
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$11,375
Earnings (4yr)
$46,772
Natl Median: $48,733
Lifetime Value Added
-$5k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $37,587
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$6,750
Earnings (4yr)
$50,531
Natl Median: $49,927
Lifetime Value Added
+$33k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $43,243
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$50,935
Natl Median: $54,246
Lifetime Value Added
+$37k
Computer Science
AssocCIP: 1107
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $62,283
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $27,014
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$9,091
Earnings (4yr)
$44,057
Natl Median: $46,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$32k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$58,154
Natl Median: $61,982
Lifetime Value Added
+$106k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$34,994
Natl Median: $41,929
Lifetime Value Added
-$123k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $70,808
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians
AssocCIP: 1503
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $67,792
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians
AssocCIP: 1511
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $66,570
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 (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $73,589
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,052
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $37,073
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$42,682
Natl Median: $58,236
Lifetime Value Added
-$28k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$53,830
Natl Median: $73,593
Lifetime Value Added
+$65k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$44,720
Natl Median: $44,669
Lifetime Value Added
-$34k
Median Debt
$7,750
Earnings (4yr)
$47,859
Natl Median: $44,125
Lifetime Value Added
+$6k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $72,444
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$32,945
Natl Median: $40,734
Lifetime Value Added
-$151k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $77,878
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Music
AssocCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $34,056
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $80,768
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$32,422
Natl Median: $56,451
Lifetime Value Added
-$156k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $36,074
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$9,000
Earnings (4yr)
$93,665
Natl Median: $80,813
Lifetime Value Added
+$428k
Median Debt
$7,687
Earnings (4yr)
$53,830
Natl Median: $37,656
Lifetime Value Added
+$65k
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
AssocCIP: 4706
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$37,117
Natl Median: $58,424
Lifetime Value Added
-$109k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$48,427
Natl Median: $41,460
Lifetime Value Added
+$12k

Post-Baccalaureate Certificates

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $86,165
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.