Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Carroll University

A bachelor's degree in liberal arts that leaves you with an estimated debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.62 sits in a manageable zone—similar programs nationally carry the same $27,000 debt burden, but first-year earnings based on Wisconsin peers come in about $7,400 above the national median. That's meaningful when you're making loan payments. The challenge is that this estimate reflects what other Wisconsin liberal arts programs produce, not Carroll's specific track record, which remains unpublished due to small graduate numbers in this major.

What complicates the picture is the gap between Carroll's estimated outcomes and the top Wisconsin programs with reported data. UW-Green Bay liberal arts graduates earn about $10,700 more in their first year than the state median Carroll appears to match. That difference compounds over time and affects how quickly debt becomes manageable. Carroll's 58% admission rate and solid average SAT suggest a reasonably selective student body, but without actual earnings data, you're betting that Carroll performs at least as well as the state average rather than below it.

The practical question is whether you're comfortable with uncertainty. If your child needs this flexibility in major selection and Carroll offers other advantages—location, size, specific faculty—the debt load isn't alarming by national standards. But if career outcomes drive the decision, programs with published results give you firmer ground to stand on, and several Wisconsin public universities show stronger earning patterns in this field.