Computer Science at Claremont McKenna College

A Computer Science degree from one of California's most selective liberal arts colleges should produce better outcomes than this. Based on comparable programs in California, graduates here earn an estimated $68,398 in their first year—essentially the state median and well below the national benchmark of $70,950. For context, Pomona College (another elite Claremont consortium school) reports actual earnings of $143,084 for its CS graduates, more than double this estimate. Even accounting for Claremont McKenna's smaller program size (which prevents DOE from publishing actual data), that's a striking gap for schools with similar selectivity.

The estimated debt load of $22,949 is manageable, resulting in a healthy 0.34 debt-to-earnings ratio that shouldn't strain most graduates. But here's the real issue: your child is competing for admission against students with 1514 SAT scores at an 11% acceptance rate to access a program that, based on peer data, delivers middle-of-the-pack outcomes in a state with extraordinary tech opportunities. The consortium allows CMC students to take CS courses at Harvey Mudd College (whose graduates command substantially higher salaries), which may explain why CMC's standalone program appears underdeveloped.

If your child is set on CMC for its economics or government programs and wants to add CS skills, this could work. But purely for Computer Science? These estimated figures suggest you're paying elite-college tuition without getting elite-level CS career preparation. Harvey Mudd or Pomona within the same consortium would be better bets if CS is the priority.