Do Liberal Arts Colleges Pay Off? What the Data Say

By Preston Cooper of AEI. Excerpts:

"On average, liberal arts colleges are a worse bet than other schools. Thirty-five percent of bachelor’s degree programs at liberal arts colleges have a negative ROI, compared to just 23 percent at other schools. When a degree program has a negative ROI, students are typically worse off for having enrolled, relative to not attending college at all. Liberal arts’ colleges underperformance is largely due to their higher tuition, along with slightly lower earnings for alumni."

"Even though liberal arts colleges tend to have lower financial returns than average, that is not true for the highest-ROI majors. If you study engineering, computer science, nursing, or economics at a liberal arts college, you’re likely to do even better than the national average for that major."

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