Private nonprofit · COLLEGE PAYOFF

The College of Wooster

Wooster, OH · 13 field-and-degree records

Earnings reported for 8 · Federal debt reported for 12

Based onObserved earnings + college priceEstimate10-year payoff
Estimated 10-year payoff
Negative payoff

−$221,282 over 10 years

Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.

52.1 yrsTime to earn back the modeled cost
−81%Estimated return after 10 years
$50,255Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedHighest annual price before payoff reaches $0
Start with your question

What do you want to understand?

ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK

Estimated payoff over ten years.

The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.

10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$221,282at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$273,8320
2
4
6
8
−$221,28210
Years after graduationBreak-even: 52.1 years
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.

Published in-state tuition$61,640
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$61,640
Sticker price
Average net price$23,458
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$75,656
Tuition + living budget
PRICE SOURCECollege reported · annual amount · federal dataset
PUBLISHED STUDENT BUDGET · 2024–25

What makes up the annual price?

Sticker-price components reported to IPEDS. Grants and scholarships are not subtracted here.

Tuition and required fees$61,640Same reported price regardless of residency
Books and supplies$1,250Estimated academic-year allowance
On-campus housing and food$14,490$1,000 in other expenses reported separately
Estimated on-campus total$78,380Sum of available published components, before aid

Living off campus: $10,995 housing and food allowance plus $1,000 in other expenses.

Do not confuse this with net price. Net price subtracts average grants and scholarships. DegreeVerdict continues to use the separately labeled average net price in its standard college ROI scenario.

PRICE SENSITIVITY

The price can change the verdict.

Hold observed earnings constant and see how the modeled ten-year payoff changes as annual price rises.

What stays fixed$50,255 observed annual earnings · 4 years of study · $45,000 alternative annual earnings · ten-year horizonThe marked price is this college’s institution-wide average net price, not your personal aid offer. This is a sensitivity test, not a tuition quote or earnings forecast.
HOW STUDENTS ATTEND · 2023-24

Most students study without distance-education courses.

IPEDS enrollment counts show course delivery across the whole institution. They do not indicate whether a specific degree can be completed online.

Fully online0.0%
0 students
Some online courses4.8%
91 students
No online courses95%
1,821 students
Undergraduates age 25+0.2%
Share of undergraduate enrollment

Institution-level attendance context from IPEDS. Program delivery is reported separately on degree pages and in the program directory. These figures do not enter ROI.

College identity and local contextAccreditation, institution type, dual enrollment and state prices
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE

Institution details

Current federal characteristics describing the college, not the outcomes of a specific program.

Accreditor
Higher Learning Commission
Main award level
Bachelor’s degrees
Campus setting
Town
Admissions
Selective admission
Delivery
Campus or mixed delivery
Federal designation
No special designation reported
Sources: College Scorecard June 2026 release and IPEDS 2024 institutional characteristics.
STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024

Prices in Ohio run 7% below the U.S. level.

BEA Regional Price Parities compare price levels across states. A value of 100 equals the national average.

Overall7% below U.S.
Goods6% below U.S.
Housing27% below U.S.
Utilities4% below U.S.
Other services1% below U.S.

Use this as geographic context, not a personal budget. It describes the state, not the campus neighborhood, and does not measure tuition or student-specific housing.

DegreeVerdict does not adjust reported earnings, college prices or ROI using this index.

Download the official BEA source →
THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE VERDICT

What it costs and what graduates earn

$23,458Average net price / year
$75,656Cost of attendance
$26,500Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$281/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$50,255Median earnings · year 5 after completion
73.9%Completion rate
59.5%Admission rate
1,353Average SAT score
29ACT midpoint
1,730Student size

Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. It does not include Parent PLUS or private loans. We show admissions scores only when a valid federal value is available.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

What the numbers say about The College of Wooster

What does The College of Wooster cost?

The College of Wooster reports an average annual net price of $23,458 after grants and scholarships. This is an institution-wide average, not an individual aid offer.

What do The College of Wooster graduates earn?

The observed median earnings figure is $50,255 5 years after completion. It describes a federal cohort, not a guaranteed starting salary.

How much federal debt do The College of Wooster graduates have?

Completer borrowers report median cumulative federal student debt of $26,500. Parent PLUS and private loans are not included.

Is every degree at The College of Wooster worth the same?

No. The current release contains 13 field-and-degree records for The College of Wooster; 8 report year-4 earnings and 12 report federal debt. Outcomes can differ substantially by field and degree level.

DEBT AFTER COLLEGE

Are borrowers making progress?

Repayment progress, default and debt at exit describe different federal borrower cohorts. They are shown separately and do not change the ROI estimate.

1 year73%Paid down at least $1 of principal
3 years74%Paid down at least $1 of principal
5 years81%Paid down at least $1 of principal
7 years86%Paid down at least $1 of principal
Students who completed$26,500Median federal debt · 414 borrowers
Students who withdrew$7,888Median federal debt · 236 borrowers
Three-year cohort default rate0%Federal cohort measure, not the share currently behind on payments

Source: College Scorecard. Repayment progress is the share of borrowers who reduced principal by at least $1 at the stated measurement point. Debt covers federal student loans; Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. Cohorts and reporting periods differ across measures.

2024–25 ENROLLMENT

Who studied here during the year

1,761Students enrolled at any point
1,761Undergraduate students
Not availableGraduate students

Unduplicated students enrolled at any point from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This full-year measure is different from a fall headcount and does not enter ROI.

More student and earnings detailPrice by family income, retention, equity and common industries
PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME

Average net price is not one price

Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.

$0–30k$12,512
$30–48k$14,032
$48–75k$17,941
$75–110k$26,165
$110k+$32,223
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$50,255
Year 6$43,895
Year 10$59,629
Full-time retention
82.1%
Part-time retention
Not available
Completion within 200% of normal time
74.4%

Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.

WHO PAYS, WHO FINISHES, WHO EARNS

Outcomes are not the same for every family.

These federal cohorts add context that a single college average can hide. Missing figures remain unreported rather than estimated.

Pell Grant students63%

Complete within 150% of the expected time

78% received a Pell Grant within eight years
Parent borrowing$31,428

Median Parent PLUS debt

158 parent borrowers in the reported cohort
First-generation students$19,500

Median federal student debt

58% making progress in repayment after three years
Student family incomeMedian earnings after 10 yearsObserved federal cohorts
Lower income$52,188Earnings are not a guarantee
Middle income$57,523Earnings are not a guarantee
Higher income$61,347Earnings are not a guarantee
Three-year repayment progress
Lower income65%
Middle income70%
Higher income79%
Undergraduate student composition
White61%
Black10%
Hispanic5%
Asian4%

Source: College Scorecard, June 2026 release. Parent PLUS debt belongs to parents; student-debt measures exclude Parent PLUS and private loans. Cohort definitions differ by measure.

NATIONAL CONTEXT

How this college compares

Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.

63thEarnings percentile
73thCompletion percentile
WHAT STANDS OUT

A faster read on this college

These summaries use every reportable field-and-credential record at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.

$60,567Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$26,719Median federal debt across categories that report debt
75%Of comparable categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS OVER TIME

What graduates earned in later years

$31,623Year 1
$57,840Year 4
$50,255Year 5

Each year can represent a different federal cohort, so the points do not track the same people over time.

DEGREES AT THIS COLLEGE

Your choice of degree can change the payoff.

Graduate earnings differ by field and credential, even within the same college.

1Mathematics · Bachelor's Degree$86,5782Economics · Bachelor's Degree$79,3103Political Science and Government · Bachelor's Degree$64,7604Communication and Media Studies · Bachelor's Degree$60,8845Psychology, General · Bachelor's Degree$60,2506Sociology · Bachelor's Degree$56,1157English Language and Literature, General · Bachelor's Degree$55,4568History · Bachelor's Degree$48,903

Observed year-4 earnings · compare the same field and credential across colleges

Strongest relative outcomes

Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark

This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential, not simply majors that pay more everywhere.

1MathematicsBachelor's Degree · $86,578 reported+24%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt2Psychology, GeneralBachelor's Degree · $60,250 reported+19%vs same-degree national median$26,000federal debt3English Language and Literature, GeneralBachelor's Degree · $55,456 reported+14%vs same-degree national median$26,717federal debt4Communication and Media StudiesBachelor's Degree · $60,884 reported+8%vs same-degree national median$22,681federal debt5SociologyBachelor's Degree · $56,115 reported+7%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt6Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's Degree · $64,760 reported+2%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt
BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in OH

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.

Steubenville, OH

Franciscan University of Steubenville

Annual net price
$23,589
Observed earnings · year 5
$49,632
Modeled 10-year ROI
-83%
Open college profile →
Wilmington, OH

Wilmington College

Annual net price
$24,153
Observed earnings · year 5
$50,978
Modeled 10-year ROI
-78%
Open college profile →
Mount Vernon, OH

Mount Vernon Nazarene University

Annual net price
$22,421
Observed earnings · year 5
$49,869
Modeled 10-year ROI
-82%
Open college profile →
Rio Grande, OH

University of Rio Grande

Annual net price
$23,686
Observed earnings · year 5
$51,876
Modeled 10-year ROI
-75%
Open college profile →
DEGREE OUTCOMES

Compare fields and degree levels

Showing all 13 field-and-degree records in the current release.

Major or fieldDegree levelEarnings, year 4Federal debt2024–25 graduates
MathematicsBachelor's Degree$86,578$27,000Not reported
EconomicsBachelor's Degree$79,310Not availableNot reported
Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's Degree$64,760$27,000Not reported
Communication and Media StudiesBachelor's Degree$60,884$22,681Not reported
Psychology, GeneralBachelor's Degree$60,250$26,000Not reported
SociologyBachelor's Degree$56,115$27,000Not reported
English Language and Literature, GeneralBachelor's Degree$55,456$26,717Not reported
HistoryBachelor's Degree$48,903$26,720Not reported
Biology, GeneralBachelor's DegreeNot available$26,107Not reported
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular BiologyBachelor's DegreeNot available$26,751Not reported
Neurobiology and NeurosciencesBachelor's DegreeNot available$23,250Not reported
PhilosophyBachelor's DegreeNot available$25,000Not reported
ChemistryBachelor's DegreeNot available$27,000Not reported

Graduate counts come from IPEDS and group related majors into the same federal field. Missing earnings or debt values remain labeled as unavailable.

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.