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State University of New York at Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh, NY 3,789 Undergrads 68.5% Grad Rate
Total Cost
$27,415
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$16,547
After Aid
Median Earnings
$56,403
10yr Post-Entry
Vs. Peer Institutions
Net Price$16,547
Peer Midpoint: $19,729.5
Earnings (10yr)$56,403
Peer Midpoint: $53,747
Graduation Rate68.5%
Peer Midpoint: 58.5%
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients38.7%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time89.4%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS76.7%
Admissions Profile
Acceptance
75.2%
SAT Avg
1,180
SAT Reading
25th: 56057075th: 640
SAT Math
25th: 54057575th: 630
ACT Composite
25th: -2675th: -
ROI Sensitivity Analysis
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
+$489k
+$92k
+$4k
Median Cost$17k/yr
+$429k
+$33k
-$55k
Full Cost$27k/yr
+$390k
-$7k
-$94k
ROI Efficiency Metrics
Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
58
∞
Median Cost$17k/yr
Never
-93%
Full Cost$27k/yr
Never
-96%
Analysis Assumptions:
- Starting Salary: Estimated from the 10-year 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-74%
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-71%
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 with your specific estimates of cost and salary.
Program ROI Analysis
Bachelor's Degrees
Accounting and Related Services
BachCIP: 5203
Median Debt
$20,625
Earnings (5yr)
$59,442
Lifetime Value Added
-$22k
Anthropology
BachCIP: 4502
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$19,227
Lifetime Value Added
-$351k
Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians
BachCIP: 1002
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$35,600
Lifetime Value Added
-$201k
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$18,751
Earnings (5yr)
$69,973
Lifetime Value Added
+$59k
Business Administration, Management and Operations
BachCIP: 5202
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (5yr)
$65,181
Lifetime Value Added
+$23k
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other
BachCIP: 5299
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$71,034
Lifetime Value Added
+$67k
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions
BachCIP: 5110
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$64,493
Lifetime Value Added
+$48k
Communication and Media Studies
BachCIP: 0901
Median Debt
$23,250
Earnings (5yr)
$41,566
Lifetime Value Added
-$169k
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
BachCIP: 5102
Median Debt
$20,850
Earnings (5yr)
$59,848
Lifetime Value Added
-$19k
Computer and Information Sciences, General
BachCIP: 1101
Median Debt
$18,250
Earnings (5yr)
$55,808
Lifetime Value Added
-$51k
Criminal Justice and Corrections
BachCIP: 4301
Median Debt
$21,381
Earnings (5yr)
$55,566
Lifetime Value Added
-$53k
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services
BachCIP: 5131
Median Debt
$15,513
Earnings (5yr)
$52,166
Lifetime Value Added
-$81k
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology
BachCIP: 2613
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$50,642
Lifetime Value Added
-$93k
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
$24,596
Earnings (5yr)
$66,521
Lifetime Value Added
+$33k
English Language and Literature, General
BachCIP: 2301
Median Debt
$21,024
Earnings (5yr)
$39,399
Lifetime Value Added
-$187k
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies
BachCIP: 0502
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (5yr)
$52,432
Lifetime Value Added
-$79k
Finance and Financial Management Services
BachCIP: 5208
Median Debt
$26,500
Earnings (5yr)
$71,066
Lifetime Value Added
+$67k
Fine and Studio Arts
BachCIP: 5007
Median Debt
$19,777
Earnings (5yr)
$36,497
Lifetime Value Added
-$212k
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations
BachCIP: 5218
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$62,258
Lifetime Value Added
+$86
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
$23,121
Earnings (5yr)
$48,863
Lifetime Value Added
-$108k
Hospitality Administration/Management
BachCIP: 5209
Median Debt
$20,000
Earnings (5yr)
$44,756
Lifetime Value Added
-$142k
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services
BachCIP: 1907
Median Debt
$22,750
Earnings (5yr)
$54,471
Lifetime Value Added
-$62k
International Business
BachCIP: 5211
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$54,773
Lifetime Value Added
-$60k
Journalism
BachCIP: 0904
Median Debt
$21,750
Earnings (5yr)
$43,968
Lifetime Value Added
-$149k
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
BachCIP: 2401
Median Debt
$22,486
Earnings (5yr)
$42,559
Lifetime Value Added
-$161k
Management Information Systems and Services
BachCIP: 5212
Median Debt
$22,973
Earnings (5yr)
$74,458
Lifetime Value Added
+$93k
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
$19,500
Earnings (5yr)
$62,979
Lifetime Value Added
+$6k
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$38,289
Lifetime Value Added
-$177k
Natural Resources Conservation and Research
BachCIP: 0301
Median Debt
$15,747
Earnings (5yr)
$64,446
Lifetime Value Added
+$17k
Political Science and Government
BachCIP: 4510
Median Debt
$23,716
Earnings (5yr)
$60,800
Lifetime Value Added
-$11k
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$18,750
Earnings (5yr)
$46,148
Lifetime Value Added
-$130k
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
BachCIP: 0909
Median Debt
$24,390
Earnings (5yr)
$57,301
Lifetime Value Added
-$39k
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication
BachCIP: 0907
Median Debt
$23,375
Earnings (5yr)
$46,805
Lifetime Value Added
-$125k
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
BachCIP: 5138
Median Debt
$21,375
Earnings (5yr)
$93,348
Lifetime Value Added
+$234k
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
BachCIP: 2313
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$34,378
Lifetime Value Added
-$230k
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
BachCIP: 1609
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$33,993
Lifetime Value Added
-$215k
Social Work
BachCIP: 4407
Median Debt
$21,515
Earnings (5yr)
$54,345
Lifetime Value Added
-$63k
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
$24,000
Earnings (5yr)
$51,423
Lifetime Value Added
-$87k
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
BachCIP: 1312
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$57,485
Lifetime Value Added
-$38k
Master's Degrees
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
MastCIP: 5102
Median Debt
$39,000
Earnings (5yr)
$61,781
Lifetime Value Added
+$79k
Curriculum and Instruction
MastCIP: 1303
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$46,321
Lifetime Value Added
-$38k
Special Education and Teaching
MastCIP: 1310
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$58,561
Lifetime Value Added
+$49k
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
MastCIP: 1312
Median Debt
$36,344
Earnings (5yr)
$60,181
Lifetime Value Added
+$64k
Graduate Certificates
Educational Administration and Supervision
Gr-CertCIP: 1304
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$88,908
Lifetime Value Added
+$401k
Note: Lifetime Value Added is the Net Present Value (NPV) of estimated career earnings relative to a median high school graduate, 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 degree decision moving forward. These Lifetime Value Added results should not be compared with those Undergraduate Certificates, Associates or Bachelors starting at age 18.