Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication at Bowling Green State University-Main Campus

Bowling Green delivers solid returns for communications majors, though you're working with limited data here. Starting at $42,296 puts graduates above three-quarters of similar programs nationally and comfortably ahead of Ohio's median of $41,677. With debt of $22,519—notably lower than both the state ($26,500) and national ($24,625) medians—students finish with a manageable debt load that equals just 6.4 months of their first-year salary.

The 14% earnings bump to $48,266 by year four suggests graduates gain traction in their careers, even if they're not matching the premium commanded by Miami University grads across the state. Ohio's communications job market clusters around the $40-45K range, so Bowling Green's placement is competitive without being exceptional.

The catch: we're looking at fewer than 30 graduates in this dataset, so these numbers could shift significantly with a larger sample. Still, the low debt relative to earnings creates a financial cushion that matters more than chasing the highest starting salary. For an 81% admission rate school, Bowling Green offers a straightforward path into communications work without the debt burden that can make entry-level media salaries feel crushing.