Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Calumet College of Saint Joseph

Based on comparable Liberal Arts programs in Indiana, graduates typically start around $36,000 with roughly $27,000 in debt—a 0.75 ratio that falls within the manageable range most financial aid experts recommend. What's harder to assess is how Calumet College specifically prepares students compared to Indiana's stronger performers. The state's top programs—Notre Dame at $45,579, Indiana Wesleyan at $43,763—show that Liberal Arts degrees can lead to substantially better outcomes, raising questions about what differentiates a $36,000 program from a $45,000 one in the same field and state.

The debt burden itself isn't alarming when spread across typical repayment timelines, but the first-year earnings estimate sits at the state median, meaning half of Indiana's Liberal Arts programs produce better results. For a school serving nearly half its students on Pell grants, that middling position matters—families without financial cushions need programs that reliably launch graduates toward stability, not just typical outcomes. The $9,000+ gap between this estimate and what Notre Dame or Indiana Wesleyan graduates earn compounds significantly over a career.

Without actual outcome data for Calumet College specifically, you're deciding based on how peer institutions perform rather than this school's track record. If your child is choosing between schools, prioritize those with transparent, reported data showing graduates actually landing jobs that justify the investment.