10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
+$410,110at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Columbia University in the City of New York
⌖ New York, NY · 76 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
MODELED SCENARIO · Strong payoff
+$410,110 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
Observed earnings clearly outpace the comparison earnings and estimated education cost in this scenario.
3.9 yrsModeled economic break-even
+154%Modeled 10-year ROI
$112,647Observed earnings · year 5
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
Cost, completion and earnings context
$21,590Average net price / year
$89,472Cost of attendance
$112,647Median earnings · year 5 after completion
96.1%Completion rate
4.0%Admission rate
8,973Student size
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
EARNINGS PATH
Reported earnings over time
$75,228Year 1
$115,519Year 4
$112,647Year 5
Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.
The college average is not the whole story.
Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.
1Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies · Graduate/Professional Certificate$312,3302Law · First Professional Degree$308,9433Business Administration, Management and Operations · Master's Degree$251,7084Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences · Graduate/Professional Certificate$220,1515Computer Engineering · Bachelor's Degree$194,3656Computer Science · Bachelor's Degree$188,2657Management Information Systems and Services · Master's Degree$184,3848Dentistry · First Professional Degree$182,326Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding
Comparable colleges in NY
Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.
Albany, NY
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- Annual net price
- $29,882
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $115,118
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +134%
Cornell University
- Annual net price
- $28,690
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $104,057
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +100%
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Annual net price
- $36,228
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $102,764
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +78%
Molloy University
- Annual net price
- $24,347
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $89,292
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +60%
Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes
| Federal field | Credential | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $312,330 | Not available |
| Law | First Professional Degree | $308,943 | Not available |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Master's Degree | $251,708 | Not available |
| Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $220,151 | Not available |
| Computer Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $194,365 | Not available |
| Computer Science | Bachelor's Degree | $188,265 | $20,397 |
| Management Information Systems and Services | Master's Degree | $184,384 | Not available |
| Dentistry | First Professional Degree | $182,326 | Not available |
| Statistics | Master's Degree | $167,848 | Not available |
| Operations Research | Bachelor's Degree | $167,572 | Not available |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology | Master's Degree | $166,264 | Not available |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Doctoral Degree | $164,885 | Not available |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | Master's Degree | $152,001 | Not available |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | Master's Degree | $150,951 | Not available |
| Real Estate Development | Master's Degree | $144,863 | Not available |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | Master's Degree | $144,395 | Not available |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $143,332 | $12,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Master's Degree | $142,412 | Not available |
| Mechanical Engineering | Master's Degree | $137,970 | Not available |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $137,710 | $25,000 |
| Sustainability Studies | Master's Degree | $123,641 | Not available |
| Construction Management | Master's Degree | $120,469 | Not available |
| Communication and Media Studies | Master's Degree | $120,003 | Not available |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | $117,252 | Not available |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | Master's Degree | $116,859 | Not available |
| Public Administration | Master's Degree | $115,874 | Not available |
| Chemical Engineering | Master's Degree | $114,037 | Not available |
| Civil Engineering | Master's Degree | $111,924 | Not available |
| Mechanical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $111,491 | $16,960 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | Master's Degree | $108,698 | Not available |
| Civil Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $108,246 | Not available |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | Master's Degree | $107,574 | Not available |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | Master's Degree | $107,139 | Not available |
| Medicine | First Professional Degree | $106,442 | Not available |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $102,199 | Not available |
| Sociology | Bachelor's Degree | $101,536 | $31,000 |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's Degree | $100,245 | $22,943 |
| Public Health | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $99,797 | Not available |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Bachelor's Degree | $99,679 | Not available |
| Public Health | Master's Degree | $98,728 | Not available |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | Master's Degree | $98,458 | Not available |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | $98,079 | $22,000 |
| Area Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $96,884 | $22,486 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning | Master's Degree | $93,415 | Not available |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | First Professional Degree | $92,870 | Not available |
| Social Sciences, Other | Master's Degree | $87,609 | Not available |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $86,946 | $20,500 |
| Sustainability Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $85,545 | $18,070 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | Master's Degree | $84,917 | Not available |
| Anthropology | Bachelor's Degree | $83,493 | $34,500 |
| Architectural Sciences and Technology | Master's Degree | $83,355 | Not available |
| Area Studies | Master's Degree | $81,697 | Not available |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other | Master's Degree | $80,798 | Not available |
| Nutrition Sciences | Master's Degree | $79,247 | Not available |
| Journalism | Master's Degree | $78,880 | Not available |
| Social Work | Master's Degree | $75,980 | Not available |
| Dispute Resolution | Master's Degree | $73,611 | Not available |
| History | Master's Degree | $72,306 | Not available |
| Historic Preservation and Conservation | Master's Degree | $70,565 | Not available |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | Bachelor's Degree | $70,244 | $27,000 |
| Social Sciences, Other | Bachelor's Degree | $65,085 | $26,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General | Bachelor's Degree | $59,396 | $25,500 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | Master's Degree | $57,723 | Not available |
| Philosophy | Bachelor's Degree | $56,885 | $20,062 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | Master's Degree | $56,444 | Not available |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $55,472 | $18,799 |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's Degree | $53,698 | $19,892 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Master's Degree | $53,592 | Not available |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $47,702 | Not available |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other | Bachelor's Degree | $46,535 | $26,971 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other | Master's Degree | $21,409 | Not available |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $19,500 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $20,250 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Post-baccalaureate Certificate | Not available | $37,186 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $21,065 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $26,853 |
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.