College ROI

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Pittsburg State University

Pittsburg, KS 4,210 Undergrads 59.0% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$22,099
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$15,784
After Aid
Median Earnings
$57,275
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$15,784
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$57,275
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$50,579
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate59.0%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Average Starting Age21.7
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients33.4%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time92.4%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS73.2%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
89.4%
SAT Avg
1,050
SAT Reading
25th: --75th: -
SAT Math
25th: --75th: -
ACT Composite
25th: 172175th: 24

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
+$514k
+$47k
+$29k
Median Cost$16k/yr
+$457k
-$10k
-$27k
Full Cost$22k/yr
+$434k
-$33k
-$50k

ROI Efficiency Metrics

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
43
∞
Median Cost$16k/yr
Never
-48%
Full Cost$22k/yr
Never
-63%
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-13%

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-50%
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

Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
CertCIP: 4701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $43,027
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Associate's Degrees

Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
AssocCIP: 4701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$44,942
Natl Median: $63,241
Lifetime Value Added
-$13k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $73,593
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
AssocCIP: 4706
Median Debt
$12,000
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,424
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Bachelor's Degrees

Median Debt
$20,936
Earnings (4yr)
$66,851
Natl Median: $76,194
Lifetime Value Added
+$48k
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (4yr)
$56,733
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
-$32k
Median Debt
$22,616
Earnings (4yr)
$64,565
Natl Median: $68,407
Lifetime Value Added
+$31k
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
$22,500
Earnings (4yr)
$45,940
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
-$122k
Median Debt
$18,951
Earnings (4yr)
$71,199
Natl Median: $78,929
Lifetime Value Added
+$82k
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician
BachCIP: 1510
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $93,843
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$21,684
Earnings (4yr)
$90,321
Natl Median: $95,124
Lifetime Value Added
+$228k
Median Debt
$23,968
Earnings (2yr)
$29,685
Natl Median: $55,378
Lifetime Value Added
-$252k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,490
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $82,686
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians
BachCIP: 1503
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$61,218
Natl Median: $84,599
Lifetime Value Added
+$24k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $89,619
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other
BachCIP: 1599
Median Debt
$12,000
Earnings (4yr)
$111,920
Natl Median: $81,678
Lifetime Value Added
+$392k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$49,023
Natl Median: $48,590
Lifetime Value Added
-$96k
Median Debt
$23,750
Earnings (4yr)
$34,318
Natl Median: $48,460
Lifetime Value Added
-$222k
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (4yr)
$76,033
Natl Median: $83,343
Lifetime Value Added
+$119k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,367
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $57,853
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$21,750
Earnings (4yr)
$39,946
Natl Median: $43,283
Lifetime Value Added
-$173k
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$20,588
Earnings (4yr)
$81,562
Natl Median: $80,890
Lifetime Value Added
+$161k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $73,201
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$19,750
Earnings (4yr)
$46,931
Natl Median: $53,072
Lifetime Value Added
-$113k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,984
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
$20,500
Earnings (4yr)
$60,219
Natl Median: $69,303
Lifetime Value Added
-$4k
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,562
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$23,500
Earnings (4yr)
$74,878
Natl Median: $82,073
Lifetime Value Added
+$110k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,693
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Music
BachCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $42,892
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$18,245
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,983
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,293
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$20,500
Earnings (4yr)
$51,640
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$74k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $86,525
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$18,500
Earnings (4yr)
$70,657
Natl Median: $88,910
Lifetime Value Added
+$78k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,000
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Social Work
BachCIP: 4407
Median Debt
$21,513
Earnings (4yr)
$53,878
Natl Median: $51,790
Lifetime Value Added
-$55k
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$30,988
Natl Median: $52,657
Lifetime Value Added
-$240k
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness
BachCIP: 3105
Median Debt
$21,163
Earnings (5yr)
$45,590
Natl Median: $54,562
Lifetime Value Added
-$132k
Median Debt
$20,550
Earnings (4yr)
$43,465
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$143k
Median Debt
$20,125
Earnings (4yr)
$48,757
Natl Median: $51,389
Lifetime Value Added
-$98k

Master's Degrees

Biology, General
MastCIP: 2601
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,830
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$19,119
Earnings (4yr)
$76,819
Natl Median: $103,485
Lifetime Value Added
+$8k
Chemistry
MastCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $82,937
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,184
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$33,993
Natl Median: $71,953
Lifetime Value Added
-$380k
Education, Other
MastCIP: 1399
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,348
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$27,785
Earnings (4yr)
$67,052
Natl Median: $71,685
Lifetime Value Added
-$78k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $70,644
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General
MastCIP: 1500
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $111,169
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
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
$27,185
Earnings (2yr)
$47,260
Natl Median: $83,558
Lifetime Value Added
-$244k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $89,051
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Mathematics
MastCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $72,654
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
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
Psychology, General
MastCIP: 4201
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$57,192
Natl Median: $64,711
Lifetime Value Added
-$168k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $120,193
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$22,743
Earnings (4yr)
$56,317
Natl Median: $64,397
Lifetime Value Added
-$176k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$44,170
Natl Median: $60,111
Lifetime Value Added
-$275k
Median Debt
$25,428
Earnings (4yr)
$52,964
Natl Median: $59,916
Lifetime Value Added
-$207k
Median Debt
$15,570
Earnings (4yr)
$56,313
Natl Median: $63,707
Lifetime Value Added
-$176k

Graduate Certificates

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $86,288
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Doctoral Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $138,131
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Professional Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $78,026
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.