Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Atlantic Cape Community College

Atlantic Cape's liberal arts associate degree graduates face a challenging starting salary of just $24,197—about $3,000 below the New Jersey median for this program and $3,000 below the national benchmark. Among New Jersey's 29 community colleges offering this degree, Atlantic Cape sits squarely in the middle at the 40th percentile, trailing schools like Camden County College and Mercer County Community College by over $3,000 annually. The modest debt load of $9,500 keeps the program accessible, but that's only marginally helpful when your first-year earnings barely exceed $24,000.

The earnings trajectory does show improvement, reaching nearly $30,000 by year four—a 24% increase that's respectable for an associate degree. However, this still leaves graduates earning about what other New Jersey community colleges deliver in year one. For families, particularly the 50% of students here receiving Pell grants, this creates a difficult calculus: the low debt is genuinely positive, but the earnings are consistently underwhelming even as they grow.

This program works best as an affordable stepping stone for students planning to transfer to a four-year institution, not as a standalone credential for immediate employment. If your child needs to enter the workforce after two years, look at the community colleges delivering $27,000+ starting salaries in New Jersey—they're charging similar tuition but producing meaningfully better outcomes.