Business/Commerce at Carthage College

A $27,000 debt load for first-year earnings around $45,600—figures drawn from comparable business programs across Wisconsin—suggests a manageable financial starting point, though Carthage's actual outcomes remain unknown due to small graduate samples. Similar Wisconsin business programs typically produce a debt-to-earnings ratio near 0.59, meaning graduates earn roughly $1.70 for every dollar borrowed. That's workable math for a business degree, particularly when the national median sits at $47,500 with similar debt levels.

The question is whether Carthage can match what peer programs deliver. Top-performing Wisconsin schools like UW-Oshkosh ($57,853) and Alverno ($52,065) demonstrate that some business programs significantly outperform the state median, while others cluster around the $45,000-$46,000 range. With an 84% admission rate and below-average SAT scores, Carthage enrolls a less selective student body, which sometimes correlates with more modest outcomes—though the college's small size and private school resources could counterbalance that through stronger career services and alumni networks.

The practical reality: if Carthage's business program performs near the Wisconsin median, graduates should manage their debt reasonably well, taking roughly 7-8 months of gross earnings to cover what they borrowed. But without actual outcome data, you're essentially betting on an unknown. Contact Carthage directly for employment statistics and compare their career placement services to Wisconsin's public universities, where you'll at least know what graduates are actually earning.