College ROI

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Oakland University

Rochester Hills, MI 12,351 Undergrads 60.9% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$25,182
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$9,120
After Aid
Median Earnings
$68,708
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$9,120
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$68,708
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$58,612
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate60.9%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Average Starting Age22.0
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients31.5%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time82.4%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS75.8%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
87.8%
SAT Avg
1,120
SAT Reading
25th: 54055575th: 640
SAT Math
25th: 49054575th: 590
ACT Composite
25th: -2575th: -

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
+$604k
+$137k
+$120k
Median Cost$9k/yr
+$571k
+$104k
+$87k
Full Cost$25k/yr
+$513k
+$46k
+$29k

ROI Efficiency Metrics

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
31
∞
Median Cost$9k/yr
36
264%
Full Cost$25k/yr
49
32%
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 Return157%

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-6%
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
$22,292
Earnings (4yr)
$82,699
Natl Median: $76,194
Lifetime Value Added
+$194k
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (4yr)
$63,925
Natl Median: $70,786
Lifetime Value Added
+$50k
Anthropology
BachCIP: 4502
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$46,628
Natl Median: $46,676
Lifetime Value Added
-$92k
Area Studies
BachCIP: 0501
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,625
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$61,384
Natl Median: $65,466
Lifetime Value Added
+$20k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $83,998
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$24,200
Earnings (4yr)
$55,991
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
-$14k
Median Debt
$25,647
Earnings (4yr)
$84,052
Natl Median: $68,257
Lifetime Value Added
+$204k
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$68,496
Natl Median: $68,407
Lifetime Value Added
+$85k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $77,981
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $66,697
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Chemistry
BachCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,120
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$26,239
Earnings (4yr)
$70,486
Natl Median: $75,975
Lifetime Value Added
+$100k
Median Debt
$22,000
Earnings (4yr)
$55,662
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
-$17k
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (4yr)
$90,737
Natl Median: $92,374
Lifetime Value Added
+$255k
Median Debt
$25,783
Earnings (4yr)
$95,843
Natl Median: $109,015
Lifetime Value Added
+$294k
Median Debt
$23,625
Earnings (4yr)
$60,027
Natl Median: $55,378
Lifetime Value Added
+$19k
Dance
BachCIP: 5003
Median Debt
$27,500
Earnings (2yr)
$24,421
Natl Median: $39,980
Lifetime Value Added
-$276k
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (4yr)
$47,432
Natl Median: $51,490
Lifetime Value Added
-$85k
Median Debt
$26,678
Earnings (4yr)
$39,442
Natl Median: $39,775
Lifetime Value Added
-$153k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,642
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$71,874
Natl Median: $82,686
Lifetime Value Added
+$111k
Median Debt
$25,971
Earnings (4yr)
$99,967
Natl Median: $100,647
Lifetime Value Added
+$325k
Median Debt
$25,418
Earnings (4yr)
$48,101
Natl Median: $48,590
Lifetime Value Added
-$80k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,710
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$43,186
Natl Median: $43,765
Lifetime Value Added
-$121k
Median Debt
$22,423
Earnings (4yr)
$79,127
Natl Median: $83,343
Lifetime Value Added
+$166k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$44,270
Natl Median: $41,367
Lifetime Value Added
-$112k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $54,945
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,459
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$23,432
Earnings (4yr)
$54,767
Natl Median: $68,245
Lifetime Value Added
-$24k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $61,296
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $61,911
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
$22,250
Earnings (4yr)
$48,990
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
-$72k
Homeland Security
BachCIP: 4303
Median Debt
$15,648
Earnings (4yr)
$63,858
Natl Median: $70,193
Lifetime Value Added
+$49k
Median Debt
$24,125
Earnings (4yr)
$70,347
Natl Median: $68,069
Lifetime Value Added
+$99k
Median Debt
$28,500
Earnings (4yr)
$102,222
Natl Median: $98,442
Lifetime Value Added
+$343k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$59,428
Natl Median: $66,596
Lifetime Value Added
+$4k
Journalism
BachCIP: 0904
Median Debt
$25,212
Earnings (4yr)
$46,680
Natl Median: $56,278
Lifetime Value Added
-$92k
Median Debt
$23,780
Earnings (4yr)
$63,534
Natl Median: $53,072
Lifetime Value Added
+$47k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,984
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (4yr)
$88,497
Natl Median: $83,290
Lifetime Value Added
+$238k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$87,119
Natl Median: $86,176
Lifetime Value Added
+$227k
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
$24,125
Earnings (4yr)
$69,448
Natl Median: $69,303
Lifetime Value Added
+$92k
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$57,531
Natl Median: $69,562
Lifetime Value Added
-$1k
Median Debt
$21,500
Earnings (4yr)
$97,444
Natl Median: $92,135
Lifetime Value Added
+$306k
Music
BachCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $42,892
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$19,187
Earnings (4yr)
$59,922
Natl Median: $55,012
Lifetime Value Added
+$18k
Non-Professional Legal Studies
BachCIP: 2200
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$48,323
Natl Median: $61,959
Lifetime Value Added
-$78k
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
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $62,172
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$21,500
Earnings (4yr)
$51,129
Natl Median: $63,293
Lifetime Value Added
-$54k
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$22,500
Earnings (4yr)
$45,141
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$105k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,093
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Public Health
BachCIP: 5122
Median Debt
$31,000
Earnings (4yr)
$85,266
Natl Median: $58,808
Lifetime Value Added
+$213k
Median Debt
$24,950
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,560
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$20,641
Earnings (4yr)
$81,667
Natl Median: $88,910
Lifetime Value Added
+$186k
Median Debt
$22,894
Earnings (5yr)
$32,718
Natl Median: $48,471
Lifetime Value Added
-$217k
Median Debt
$24,856
Earnings (4yr)
$41,443
Natl Median: $55,000
Lifetime Value Added
-$136k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $57,805
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Social Work
BachCIP: 4407
Median Debt
$25,000
Earnings (4yr)
$55,754
Natl Median: $51,790
Lifetime Value Added
-$16k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $46,959
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
$20,333
Earnings (4yr)
$47,873
Natl Median: $52,657
Lifetime Value Added
-$81k
Median Debt
$27,542
Earnings (4yr)
$48,396
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$77k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$51,899
Natl Median: $51,389
Lifetime Value Added
-$56k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,688
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Master's Degrees

Median Debt
$23,015
Earnings (4yr)
$96,676
Natl Median: $95,833
Lifetime Value Added
+$194k
Applied Mathematics
MastCIP: 2703
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $116,060
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
MastCIP: 2601
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,830
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$25,785
Earnings (4yr)
$122,437
Natl Median: $103,485
Lifetime Value Added
+$419k
Chemistry
MastCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $82,937
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $71,953
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $124,201
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $136,736
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$80,391
Natl Median: $121,855
Lifetime Value Added
+$80k
Education, Other
MastCIP: 1399
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,348
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$27,267
Earnings (4yr)
$55,861
Natl Median: $71,685
Lifetime Value Added
-$168k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$128,958
Natl Median: $133,654
Lifetime Value Added
+$475k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$132,052
Natl Median: $125,651
Lifetime Value Added
+$502k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,512
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
History
MastCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,360
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$84,147
Natl Median: $83,558
Lifetime Value Added
+$70k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $119,184
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,093
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$130,141
Natl Median: $115,974
Lifetime Value Added
+$486k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $140,634
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$52,482
Earnings (4yr)
$65,301
Natl Median: $59,571
Lifetime Value Added
-$81k
Music
MastCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $48,285
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Physics
MastCIP: 4008
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $96,478
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $67,681
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Psychology, General
MastCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$36,414
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $64,711
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$46,967
Earnings (4yr)
$79,238
Natl Median: $81,408
Lifetime Value Added
+$42k
Public Health
MastCIP: 5122
Median Debt
$37,302
Earnings (4yr)
$68,517
Natl Median: $82,751
Lifetime Value Added
-$53k
Median Debt
$44,928
Earnings (4yr)
$117,829
Natl Median: $120,193
Lifetime Value Added
+$379k
Median Debt
$36,989
Earnings (4yr)
$67,300
Natl Median: $64,397
Lifetime Value Added
-$63k
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness
MastCIP: 3105
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $62,033
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Statistics
MastCIP: 2705
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $123,816
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$49,875
Earnings (4yr)
$55,836
Natl Median: $60,111
Lifetime Value Added
-$168k
Systems Engineering
MastCIP: 1427
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $144,565
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$38,801
Earnings (4yr)
$57,431
Natl Median: $59,916
Lifetime Value Added
-$153k
Median Debt
$33,079
Earnings (4yr)
$60,911
Natl Median: $63,707
Lifetime Value Added
-$121k

Graduate Certificates

Biology, General
Gr-CertCIP: 2601
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $66,581
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $94,506
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $86,288
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $74,850
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $64,852
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,147
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Doctoral Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $123,729
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
DocCIP: 2601
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $92,983
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Chemistry
DocCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $115,386
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $154,538
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$37,444
Earnings (4yr)
$99,496
Natl Median: $100,573
Lifetime Value Added
+$58k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $157,305
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $131,070
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $98,707
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $138,131
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$93,047
Earnings (4yr)
$84,462
Natl Median: $82,893
Lifetime Value Added
-$54k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $83,794
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $162,438
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $81,822
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $85,168
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Professional Degrees

Medicine
ProfCIP: 5112
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$116,041
Natl Median: $112,460
Lifetime Value Added
+$180k

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.