Business/Managerial Economics at Brigham Young University-Hawaii

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.45 looks reasonable on paper, but the estimates here deserve scrutiny. Peer programs nationally suggest roughly $53,000 in first-year earnings and $24,000 in debt for business/managerial economics bachelor's degrees—figures that would make this investment viable if they hold true at BYU-Hawaii. The challenge is that Hawaii's cost of living dramatically reshapes what these numbers mean. Even if graduates match the national earning pattern, $53,000 stretches far less in Laie than it would in most mainland markets where comparable programs operate.

The suppressed data raises practical questions about program scale and graduate outcomes. When federal data can't be published due to small sample sizes, it becomes harder to know whether this specific program's graduates are actually landing jobs that justify the investment. The national benchmarks provide a starting point, but they can't account for Hawaii's unique labor market or whether BYU-Hawaii's graduates are staying in-state (where living costs are high) or relocating to mainland opportunities.

For families considering this program, the key unknown is whether graduates can secure positions that match or exceed those national earning estimates while managing Hawaii's economic realities. The estimated debt burden appears manageable in isolation, but without concrete data on where graduates actually land and what they earn in their specific circumstances, you're betting on averages that may not reflect this program's distinct outcomes.