Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) at Anderson University

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.69 based on comparable legal studies programs suggests you'd be borrowing roughly two-thirds of expected first-year income—not catastrophic, but hardly comfortable for a field that typically doesn't command premium entry-level salaries. Legal studies bachelor's degrees occupy an awkward middle ground: they're not paralegal certificates (cheaper, faster) and they're not law degrees (expensive, but with clear professional pathways). The estimated $39,000 starting salary tracks with what similar programs produce nationally, which means your child would likely face several years of modest income while managing substantial monthly loan payments.

What makes this harder to evaluate is that we're working entirely with estimates from peer institutions—Anderson's program is too small for the Department of Education to report actual graduate outcomes. That means you're essentially betting that this program will perform like the national average for legal studies degrees. The real question is whether a bachelor's in legal studies opens enough doors to justify the investment. Many graduates find themselves competing for paralegal positions against candidates with specialized certificates, or pivoting to unrelated fields where the degree offers no particular advantage. If your child is genuinely committed to law school later, any solid bachelor's degree will suffice. If not, this path requires a very clear plan for how the credential translates to employment in your local market.