College ROI

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North Central College

Naperville, IL 2,428 Undergrads 69.0% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$57,219
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$21,044
After Aid
Median Earnings
$61,656
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$21,044
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$61,656
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$60,123
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate69.0%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Average Starting Age20.5
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients24.9%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time98.5%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS81.8%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
77.3%
SAT Avg
1,213
SAT Reading
25th: 53057075th: 650
SAT Math
25th: 52556075th: 660
ACT Composite
25th: 242575th: 29

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
+$549k
+$82k
+$65k
Median Cost$21k/yr
+$473k
+$6k
-$11k
Full Cost$57k/yr
+$343k
-$124k
-$141k

ROI Efficiency Metrics

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
36
∞
Median Cost$21k/yr
Never
-15%
Full Cost$57k/yr
Never
-69%
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-36%

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-73%
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
$21,166
Earnings (4yr)
$78,125
Natl Median: $76,194
Lifetime Value Added
+$116k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$45,500
Natl Median: $70,786
Lifetime Value Added
-$129k
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
Area Studies
BachCIP: 0501
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,625
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,466
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (5yr)
$68,342
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
+$31k
Median Debt
$21,500
Earnings (4yr)
$65,992
Natl Median: $68,257
Lifetime Value Added
+$23k
Chemistry
BachCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,120
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,429
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Computer Science
BachCIP: 1107
Median Debt
$26,228
Earnings (4yr)
$79,877
Natl Median: $107,009
Lifetime Value Added
+$129k
Median Debt
$22,000
Earnings (4yr)
$57,192
Natl Median: $51,490
Lifetime Value Added
-$47k
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (4yr)
$46,605
Natl Median: $39,775
Lifetime Value Added
-$135k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$57,424
Natl Median: $51,642
Lifetime Value Added
-$45k
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
$26,801
Earnings (4yr)
$80,494
Natl Median: $82,686
Lifetime Value Added
+$134k
Median Debt
$26,500
Earnings (2yr)
$38,289
Natl Median: $48,590
Lifetime Value Added
-$193k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$68,750
Natl Median: $61,027
Lifetime Value Added
+$44k
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$81,562
Natl Median: $83,343
Lifetime Value Added
+$142k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$19,455
Natl Median: $41,367
Lifetime Value Added
-$365k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,459
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $43,283
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$32,925
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
-$241k
Median Debt
$18,384
Earnings (4yr)
$71,555
Natl Median: $68,069
Lifetime Value Added
+$66k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $73,201
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
International/Globalization Studies
BachCIP: 3020
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $59,972
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Journalism
BachCIP: 0904
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,278
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,072
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$105,350
Natl Median: $86,176
Lifetime Value Added
+$324k
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
$20,484
Earnings (4yr)
$71,123
Natl Median: $69,303
Lifetime Value Added
+$62k
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,562
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Music
BachCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$46,744
Natl Median: $42,892
Lifetime Value Added
-$134k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,012
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$23,655
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $62,451
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
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
$25,205
Earnings (5yr)
$66,258
Natl Median: $63,293
Lifetime Value Added
+$15k
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$25,000
Earnings (4yr)
$52,062
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$89k
Median Debt
$20,649
Earnings (4yr)
$60,573
Natl Median: $63,560
Lifetime Value Added
-$20k
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$45,838
Natl Median: $50,497
Lifetime Value Added
-$142k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,390
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$36,848
Natl Median: $48,471
Lifetime Value Added
-$206k
Median Debt
$25,000
Earnings (4yr)
$51,018
Natl Median: $55,000
Lifetime Value Added
-$98k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,366
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,812
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
$26,943
Earnings (4yr)
$56,281
Natl Median: $52,657
Lifetime Value Added
-$55k
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness
BachCIP: 3105
Median Debt
$25,000
Earnings (4yr)
$60,018
Natl Median: $54,562
Lifetime Value Added
-$24k
Median Debt
$26,916
Earnings (4yr)
$49,224
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$113k
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$51,247
Natl Median: $51,389
Lifetime Value Added
-$96k

Master's Degrees

Median Debt
$31,918
Earnings (4yr)
$102,600
Natl Median: $103,485
Lifetime Value Added
+$224k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,399
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$89,044
Natl Median: $71,685
Lifetime Value Added
+$106k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$65,846
Natl Median: $65,716
Lifetime Value Added
-$98k

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.