Health and Physical Education/Fitness at Barton College

Barton College graduates 37% more students receiving Pell grants than the typical private college, yet its Physical Education program produces outcomes that beat 60% of similar North Carolina programs—a meaningful achievement given the state has 44 competing options. The $36,515 four-year salary lands below top performers like Meredith College ($38,525) or UNC Charlotte ($34,219), but it's nearly $9,000 above the state median and roughly tracks with the national benchmark.

The manageable $27,000 debt load tells an important part of this story. With a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.92, graduates can realistically pay down their loans on a typical physical education salary—the program ranks in the 5th percentile nationally for debt burden, meaning 95% of similar programs leave students with more debt. The 24% earnings growth from year one to year four also suggests career progression rather than stagnation, which matters in a field where starting salaries rarely break $30,000.

The major caveat: this data comes from fewer than 30 graduates, so individual circumstances could swing these numbers significantly. Still, for families weighing Barton's open-admission model and commitment to first-generation students against career outcomes, this program appears to deliver solid value—particularly for North Carolina residents who will pay in-state tuition while achieving above-state-median results.