College ROI

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Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN 2,162 Undergrads 46.9% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$15,694
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$10,046
After Aid
Median Earnings
$49,859
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$10,046
Peer Midpoint: $9,847
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$49,859
Peer Midpoint: $50,128
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$43,827
Peer Midpoint: $40,451
Graduation Rate46.9%
Peer Midpoint: 34.6%
Warning: The majority of students at this institution do not graduate. Non-completers typically earn significantly less and face higher debt risks.
Average Starting Age23.4
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 Recipients45.0%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time58.2%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS69.4%

Admissions Profile

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

ROI Sensitivity Analysis
Assuming 2 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
+$531k
+$15k
+$47k
Median Cost$10k/yr
+$513k
-$3k
+$28k
Full Cost$16k/yr
+$502k
-$13k
+$18k

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
31
∞
Median Cost$10k/yr
38
153%
Full Cost$16k/yr
44
62%
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 Return228%

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 Return13%
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
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,589
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$10,779
Earnings (4yr)
$50,046
Natl Median: $43,930
Lifetime Value Added
+$83k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$56,311
Natl Median: $42,010
Lifetime Value Added
+$149k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $34,272
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $57,584
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $33,223
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $38,011
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $32,681
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Carpenters
CertCIP: 4602
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,835
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $38,675
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $38,000
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $52,615
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$9,500
Earnings (4yr)
$29,574
Natl Median: $26,307
Lifetime Value Added
-$140k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$41,332
Natl Median: $36,116
Lifetime Value Added
-$11k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,359
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$77,727
Natl Median: $53,078
Lifetime Value Added
+$362k
Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians
CertCIP: 1504
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$73,528
Natl Median: $65,202
Lifetime Value Added
+$321k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $52,001
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $35,447
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
International/Globalization Studies
CertCIP: 3020
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,099
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,747
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,906
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $43,365
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Plant Sciences
CertCIP: 0111
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $48,404
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$18,048
Earnings (4yr)
$44,191
Natl Median: $56,073
Lifetime Value Added
+$20k
Median Debt
$9,750
Earnings (4yr)
$54,714
Natl Median: $48,702
Lifetime Value Added
+$133k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $29,652
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $34,631
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,570
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $24,479
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
CertCIP: 4706
Median Debt
$9,885
Earnings (4yr)
$51,792
Natl Median: $51,586
Lifetime Value Added
+$102k

Associate's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$50,108
Natl Median: $47,660
Lifetime Value Added
+$31k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $47,825
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $42,438
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Agriculture, General
AssocCIP: 0100
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $45,683
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $42,269
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,389
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $35,660
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$25,967
Natl Median: $37,587
Lifetime Value Added
-$203k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,195
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Computer Programming
AssocCIP: 1102
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,070
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,737
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $54,726
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $27,014
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$63,210
Natl Median: $46,706
Lifetime Value Added
+$156k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $38,127
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$52,107
Natl Median: $55,895
Lifetime Value Added
+$71k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $70,808
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians
AssocCIP: 1504
Median Debt
$15,015
Earnings (4yr)
$73,764
Natl Median: $73,046
Lifetime Value Added
+$251k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$47,662
Natl Median: $46,500
Lifetime Value Added
+$7k
Median Debt
$22,399
Earnings (4yr)
$40,575
Natl Median: $37,073
Lifetime Value Added
-$64k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,180
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,669
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$10,960
Earnings (4yr)
$48,951
Natl Median: $44,125
Lifetime Value Added
+$19k
Marketing
AssocCIP: 5214
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,264
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Plant Sciences
AssocCIP: 0111
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,971
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,451
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $36,074
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$15,250
Earnings (4yr)
$69,504
Natl Median: $80,813
Lifetime Value Added
+$213k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $43,854
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $29,755
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$26,033
Natl Median: $37,656
Lifetime Value Added
-$213k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $36,642
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
AssocCIP: 4706
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,424
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$13,000
Earnings (4yr)
$40,054
Natl Median: $41,460
Lifetime Value Added
-$70k

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.