English Language and Literature at Colorado State University-Fort Collins

Colorado State's English program starts graduates at just $27,549—below both the state median ($31,257) and national average ($29,967), ranking only in the 40th percentile among Colorado's 17 English programs. However, the trajectory tells a more encouraging story: earnings jump 53% to $42,135 by year four, which is strong growth for a humanities degree. The debt load of $20,500 is relatively manageable compared to the national median of $24,529, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio under 1.0 even in that difficult first year.

The central question is whether your student can weather those lean early years. Metropolitan State and UC Denver graduates start nearly $8,000 higher, which matters enormously when you're trying to cover rent and loan payments on $27,000. The moderate sample size means these numbers are reasonably reliable, but the wide gap between year one and year four suggests outcomes vary significantly—likely depending on whether graduates leverage the degree into teaching, graduate school, or adjacent fields like marketing and communications.

If your child has a clear post-graduation plan and can manage financially in that first year (perhaps through family support or staying home), the long-term earnings growth makes this workable. But if they'll be immediately self-supporting, the other Colorado programs offer a less precarious starting point for essentially the same debt.