Business/Commerce at Alverno College

First-year earnings of $52,065 put Alverno's business graduates well above both the state median ($45,624) and national median ($47,506) for this degree. While the debt figure is estimated from similar Wisconsin programs at around $27,000, the resulting debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.52 suggests manageable repayment—graduates would owe roughly half their first-year salary, which financial aid experts generally consider reasonable territory for a bachelor's degree.

What's particularly striking is how Alverno competes against Wisconsin's larger public universities. The program outperforms most UW system campuses in the data, trailing only UW-Oshkosh. Given that nearly half of Alverno's students receive Pell grants, these earnings outcomes represent genuine economic mobility for students from lower-income backgrounds. The school's open admission policy (93% acceptance rate) means it's serving students who might not access higher-earning programs elsewhere.

The main uncertainty here is whether that $27,000 debt estimate holds true for Alverno specifically—it could be higher or lower depending on the school's financial aid practices. But even if debt ran somewhat higher, these earnings would likely absorb it. For a family evaluating this program, the combination of strong actual earnings data and accessibility makes this a solid option, especially compared to business programs at Wisconsin schools with similar profiles.