Linguistic, Comparative, at Appalachian State University

Appalachian State's linguistics program lands graduates right at the North Carolina median, with first-year earnings of $24,657—essentially identical to the state benchmark. However, this places the program well below the national median of $27,449, ranking in just the 31st percentile nationally. While the debt load of $23,342 is manageable relative to first-year earnings (a ratio under 1.0), graduates are earning roughly $10,000 less than peers from East Carolina or NC State's linguistics programs.

The program's moderate performance becomes more concerning when you consider career trajectory. Linguistics typically leads to roles in education, translation, or technical writing—fields where initial earnings matter less than growth potential. At this income level, graduates may struggle to make progress on loans while building toward better-paying positions. The relatively high admission rate and modest test scores suggest this is an accessible program, but accessibility doesn't translate to competitive outcomes in this case.

For families, this is a yellow-light situation. If your child is passionate about linguistics and plans to pursue graduate education (where the undergraduate institution matters less), this could work. But if they're expecting the bachelor's degree alone to launch a career, the earnings gap compared to the state's top programs is significant enough to warrant looking at alternatives—or at least having honest conversations about financial expectations post-graduation.