College ROI

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Wilkes University

Wilkes-Barre, PA 1,985 Undergrads 61.4% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$56,765
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$27,743
After Aid
Median Earnings
$69,197
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$27,743
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$69,197
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$63,454
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate61.4%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Average Starting Age21.2
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients33.4%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time95.4%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS80.0%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
90.6%
SAT Avg
1,136
SAT Reading
25th: 53057575th: 630
SAT Math
25th: 49057075th: 620
ACT Composite
25th: 222475th: 29

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
+$608k
+$141k
+$123k
Median Cost$28k/yr
+$508k
+$41k
+$23k
Full Cost$57k/yr
+$403k
-$63k
-$81k

ROI Efficiency Metrics

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
31
∞
Median Cost$28k/yr
51
23%
Full Cost$57k/yr
Never
-40%
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 Return18%

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-57%
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
$25,500
Earnings (4yr)
$75,468
Natl Median: $76,194
Lifetime Value Added
+$71k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,466
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$57,332
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
-$70k
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (4yr)
$57,020
Natl Median: $68,257
Lifetime Value Added
-$73k
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
$26,885
Earnings (5yr)
$54,942
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
-$98k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$47,160
Natl Median: $55,384
Lifetime Value Added
-$162k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$68,499
Natl Median: $92,374
Lifetime Value Added
+$39k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $39,775
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Education, General
BachCIP: 1301
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,808
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$25,662
Earnings (4yr)
$86,308
Natl Median: $89,359
Lifetime Value Added
+$154k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$20,140
Natl Median: $48,590
Lifetime Value Added
-$382k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $61,027
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$70,039
Natl Median: $81,171
Lifetime Value Added
+$30k
Median Debt
$25,000
Earnings (4yr)
$72,961
Natl Median: $83,343
Lifetime Value Added
+$52k
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $56,726
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $66,596
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,072
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
$25,625
Earnings (4yr)
$71,501
Natl Median: $69,303
Lifetime Value Added
+$41k
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$39,729
Natl Median: $69,562
Lifetime Value Added
-$204k
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$79,326
Natl Median: $92,135
Lifetime Value Added
+$101k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $62,451
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Philosophy
BachCIP: 3801
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $54,455
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Physical Sciences, General
BachCIP: 4001
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $68,944
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Physics
BachCIP: 4008
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$32,569
Natl Median: $76,786
Lifetime Value Added
-$269k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,293
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (4yr)
$48,033
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$147k
Median Debt
$24,990
Earnings (4yr)
$92,034
Natl Median: $88,910
Lifetime Value Added
+$198k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,000
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (4yr)
$58,006
Natl Median: $52,657
Lifetime Value Added
-$65k
Median Debt
$26,000
Earnings (4yr)
$52,234
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$112k

Master's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $106,375
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$39,600
Earnings (4yr)
$95,365
Natl Median: $103,485
Lifetime Value Added
+$149k
Education, General
MastCIP: 1301
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$68,953
Natl Median: $65,824
Lifetime Value Added
-$83k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$104,444
Natl Median: $71,685
Lifetime Value Added
+$228k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $120,215
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,716
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Mathematics
MastCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $72,654
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $115,974
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$41,390
Earnings (4yr)
$127,350
Natl Median: $120,193
Lifetime Value Added
+$427k
Median Debt
$36,000
Earnings (4yr)
$37,334
Natl Median: $55,035
Lifetime Value Added
-$382k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $64,397
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$65,331
Natl Median: $59,916
Lifetime Value Added
-$115k
Median Debt
$16,045
Earnings (4yr)
$59,548
Natl Median: $63,707
Lifetime Value Added
-$168k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,767
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Graduate Certificates

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,226
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$38,188
Earnings (4yr)
$118,833
Natl Median: $126,911
Lifetime Value Added
+$474k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,709
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Doctoral Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $83,031
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $100,573
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$37,070
Earnings (4yr)
$145,853
Natl Median: $138,131
Lifetime Value Added
+$333k

Professional Degrees

Median Debt
$66,000
Earnings (4yr)
$137,560
Natl Median: $138,348
Lifetime Value Added
+$272k

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.