Private nonprofit · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Wabash College

Crawfordsville, IN · 8 field-and-degree records

Earnings reported for 7 · Federal debt reported for 8

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

−$79,874 over 10 years

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

14.0 yrsTime to earn back the modeled cost
−29%Estimated return after 10 years
$64,747Observed earnings · year 5
$4,368Highest annual price before payoff reaches $0

The price benchmark would need to fall by $19,969 per year to reach it.

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
−$79,874at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$277,3440
2
4
6
8
−$79,87410
Years after graduationBreak-even: 14.0 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$50,800
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$50,800
Sticker price
Average net price$24,336
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$65,144
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$50,800Same reported price regardless of residency
Books and supplies$1,300Estimated academic-year allowance
On-campus housing and food$14,400$1,570 in other expenses reported separately
Estimated on-campus total$68,070Sum of available published components, before aid

Living off campus: $9,750 housing and food allowance plus $1,570 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$64,747 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 online0.1%
1 students
Some online courses5.0%
43 students
No online courses95%
808 students
Undergraduates age 25+0.1%
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 Indiana 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.
Goods4% below U.S.
Housing26% below U.S.
Utilities14% 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

$24,336Average net price / year
$65,144Cost of attendance
$27,000Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$286/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$64,747Median earnings · year 5 after completion
77.0%Completion rate
63.3%Admission rate
1,180Average SAT score
26ACT midpoint
866Student 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 Wabash College

What does Wabash College cost?

Wabash College reports an average annual net price of $24,336 after grants and scholarships. This is an institution-wide average, not an individual aid offer.

What do Wabash College graduates earn?

The observed median earnings figure is $64,747 5 years after completion. It describes a federal cohort, not a guaranteed starting salary.

How much federal debt do Wabash College graduates have?

Completer borrowers report median cumulative federal student debt of $27,000. Parent PLUS and private loans are not included.

Is every degree at Wabash College worth the same?

No. The current release contains 8 field-and-degree records for Wabash College; 7 report year-4 earnings and 8 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 year66%Paid down at least $1 of principal
3 years70%Paid down at least $1 of principal
5 years78%Paid down at least $1 of principal
7 years82%Paid down at least $1 of principal
Students who completed$27,000Median federal debt · 242 borrowers
Students who withdrew$8,733Median federal debt · 130 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

893Students enrolled at any point
893Undergraduate 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$16,586
$30–48k$13,526
$48–75k$18,175
$75–110k$18,681
$110k+$30,511
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$64,747
Year 6$52,667
Year 10$69,952
Full-time retention
93.0%
Part-time retention
Not available
Completion within 200% of normal time
75.3%

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 students74%

Complete within 150% of the expected time

65% received a Pell Grant within eight years
Parent borrowing$25,200

Median Parent PLUS debt

97 parent borrowers in the reported cohort
First-generation students$25,083

Median federal student debt

72% making progress in repayment after three years
Student family incomeMedian earnings after 10 yearsObserved federal cohorts
Lower income$59,806Earnings are not a guarantee
Middle income$63,071Earnings are not a guarantee
Higher income$75,833Earnings are not a guarantee
Three-year repayment progress
Lower income58%
Middle income79%
Higher income69%
Undergraduate student composition
White71%
Black4%
Hispanic14%
Asian1%

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.

85thEarnings percentile
77thCompletion 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.

$65,605Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$27,000Median federal debt across categories that report debt
100%Of comparable categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS OVER TIME

What graduates earned in later years

$42,841Year 1
$68,626Year 4
$64,747Year 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.

1Economics · Bachelor's Degree$87,3722Political Science and Government · Bachelor's Degree$74,0613Religion/Religious Studies · Bachelor's Degree$69,9884Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies · Bachelor's Degree$65,6055Biology, General · Bachelor's Degree$62,6536History · Bachelor's Degree$59,2217English Language and Literature, General · Bachelor's Degree$53,638

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.

1Religion/Religious StudiesBachelor's Degree · $69,988 reported+69%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt2Rhetoric and Composition/Writing StudiesBachelor's Degree · $65,605 reported+35%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt3Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's Degree · $74,061 reported+17%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt4HistoryBachelor's Degree · $59,221 reported+17%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt5English Language and Literature, GeneralBachelor's Degree · $53,638 reported+10%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt6Biology, GeneralBachelor's Degree · $62,653 reported+10%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt
BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in IN

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.

Indianapolis, IN

Marian University

Annual net price
$24,018
Observed earnings · year 5
$64,193
Modeled 10-year ROI
-30%
Open college profile →
Notre Dame, IN

Saint Mary's College

Annual net price
$25,292
Observed earnings · year 5
$65,300
Modeled 10-year ROI
-28%
Open college profile →
Angola, IN

Trine University

Annual net price
$25,355
Observed earnings · year 5
$63,278
Modeled 10-year ROI
-35%
Open college profile →
Greencastle, IN

DePauw University

Annual net price
$22,264
Observed earnings · year 5
$65,357
Modeled 10-year ROI
-24%
Open college profile →
DEGREE OUTCOMES

Compare fields and degree levels

Showing all 8 field-and-degree records in the current release.

Major or fieldDegree levelEarnings, year 4Federal debt2024–25 graduates
EconomicsBachelor's Degree$87,372$27,000Not reported
Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's Degree$74,061$27,000Not reported
Religion/Religious StudiesBachelor's Degree$69,988$27,000Not reported
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing StudiesBachelor's Degree$65,605$27,000Not reported
Biology, GeneralBachelor's Degree$62,653$27,000Not reported
HistoryBachelor's Degree$59,221$27,000Not reported
English Language and Literature, GeneralBachelor's Degree$53,638$27,000Not reported
Research and Experimental PsychologyBachelor'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.