10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$66,388at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Dickinson College
⌖ Carlisle, PA · 15 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
MODELED SCENARIO · Negative payoff
−$66,388 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
At these assumptions, the estimated earnings premium does not recover the modeled economic investment within ten years.
12.5 yrsModeled economic break-even
−20%Modeled 10-year ROI
$71,404Observed 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.
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE
Institution details
Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- Main award level
- Bachelor’s degrees
- Campus setting
- City
- Admissions
- Selective admission
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
Cost, debt, completion and earnings context
$37,607Average net price / year
$82,902Cost of attendance
$19,000Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$201/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$71,404Median earnings · year 5 after completion
79.8%Completion rate
42.1%Admission rate
2,273Student size
Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
EARNINGS PATH
Reported earnings over time
$38,320Year 1
$67,139Year 4
$71,404Year 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.
1International Business · Bachelor's Degree$84,9902Economics · Bachelor's Degree$78,3783Area Studies · Bachelor's Degree$63,8744International Relations and National Security Studies · Bachelor's Degree$62,5705Political Science and Government · Bachelor's Degree$59,8346Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics · Bachelor's Degree$59,0457Psychology, General · Bachelor's Degree$58,7068History · Bachelor's Degree$57,699Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding
Comparable colleges in PA
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.
Pittsburgh, PA
Duquesne University
- Annual net price
- $37,730
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $71,684
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -19%
Franklin and Marshall College
- Annual net price
- $36,425
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $68,877
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -27%
Misericordia University
- Annual net price
- $37,485
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $65,867
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -37%
Gettysburg College
- Annual net price
- $31,490
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $71,373
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -14%
Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes
| Federal field | Credential | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2023–24 awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Business | Bachelor's Degree | $84,990 | $19,000 | Not reported |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $78,378 | $19,000 | Not reported |
| Area Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $63,874 | $19,802 | Not reported |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $62,570 | $19,000 | Not reported |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's Degree | $59,834 | $19,000 | Not reported |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | $59,045 | $19,000 | Not reported |
| Psychology, General | Bachelor's Degree | $58,706 | $19,000 | Not reported |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | $57,699 | $19,000 | Not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General | Bachelor's Degree | $57,603 | $19,000 | Not reported |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's Degree | $57,103 | $19,000 | Not reported |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | Bachelor's Degree | $54,597 | $18,402 | Not reported |
| Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $19,000 | Not reported |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $19,000 | Not reported |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $19,000 | Not reported |
| Sociology | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $19,000 | Not reported |
Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.
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.