College ROI

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Walla Walla University

College Place, WA 1,252 Undergrads 67.2% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$45,903
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$23,329
After Aid
Median Earnings
$68,868
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$23,329
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$68,868
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$61,885
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate67.2%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Average Starting Age20.9
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients27.5%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time96.8%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS78.6%

Admissions Profile

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

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
+$605k
+$138k
+$121k
Median Cost$23k/yr
+$521k
+$54k
+$37k
Full Cost$46k/yr
+$440k
-$27k
-$44k

ROI Efficiency Metrics

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
31
∞
Median Cost$23k/yr
47
44%
Full Cost$46k/yr
Never
-27%
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 Return42%

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-48%
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

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $57,584
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
CertCIP: 2601
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $52,278
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $60,097
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Chemistry
CertCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,784
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $43,761
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,400
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $36,116
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $31,337
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Education, General
CertCIP: 1301
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $47,863
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Education, Other
CertCIP: 1399
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,151
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $29,202
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $36,104
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,065
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
History
CertCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,929
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,906
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Marketing
CertCIP: 5214
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,757
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Mathematics
CertCIP: 2701
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$90,978
Natl Median: $81,646
Lifetime Value Added
+$478k
Music
CertCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $33,318
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,561
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Non-Professional Legal Studies
CertCIP: 2200
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $78,149
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $66,569
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Philosophy
CertCIP: 3801
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,871
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Psychology, General
CertCIP: 4201
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $45,285
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $45,385
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $48,391
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$23,666
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,696
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Social Work
CertCIP: 4407
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $43,190
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Sociology
CertCIP: 4511
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,205
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,570
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Associate's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,927
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $61,982
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,303
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,711
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

Bachelor's Degrees

Air Transportation
BachCIP: 4901
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $85,825
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,466
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $93,451
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (4yr)
$63,844
Natl Median: $68,407
Lifetime Value Added
-$2k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,523
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$34,704
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
-$233k
Computer Science
BachCIP: 1107
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $107,009
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$54,035
Natl Median: $51,490
Lifetime Value Added
-$81k
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$91,473
Natl Median: $89,359
Lifetime Value Added
+$210k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $48,590
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,367
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$25,000
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $61,296
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $85,294
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $73,201
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,072
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,562
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Music
BachCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $42,892
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Physics
BachCIP: 4008
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $76,786
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$26,860
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Public Health
BachCIP: 5122
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,808
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$101,497
Natl Median: $88,910
Lifetime Value Added
+$286k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,390
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,000
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Social Work
BachCIP: 4407
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$60,449
Natl Median: $51,790
Lifetime Value Added
-$29k
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $52,657
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$27,381
Earnings (2yr)
$28,881
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$286k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $51,389
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
BachCIP: 4706
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $80,809
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Master's Degrees

Biology, General
MastCIP: 2601
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,830
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,184
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $71,953
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,399
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Education, General
MastCIP: 1301
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,824
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Social Work
MastCIP: 4407
Median Debt
$43,141
Earnings (4yr)
$56,969
Natl Median: $65,123
Lifetime Value Added
-$184k

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.