Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Concordia College at Moorhead

The challenge with Concordia's Liberal Arts program is that while the debt estimate seems manageable at $27,000, the earnings figure of $36,340 falls substantially below what other Minnesota schools in this field typically deliver. Top programs in the state—like the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities at $56,778 and Metropolitan State at $49,083—suggest Minnesota graduates in Liberal Arts fields generally earn far more than the national average. That $16,590 gap between what this program's peers nationally produce versus what Minnesota programs deliver is significant.

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.74 isn't alarming on its face—it would take about nine months of gross income to pay off the debt. But that calculation assumes the national estimate holds true here, which may be optimistic given Minnesota's stronger market for Liberal Arts graduates. If Concordia's actual outcomes track closer to state norms, the financial picture improves considerably. If they track to national norms in a state where employers pay more, that's a missed opportunity.

The practical question is whether Concordia can deliver Minnesota-level outcomes despite being a smaller program (hence the suppressed data). The college's 63% admission rate and decent SAT scores suggest a reasonably selective environment, but without actual graduate outcomes, you're betting on the school's ability to compete with larger state institutions for Minnesota employers' attention. That's not impossible, but it requires confidence in the school's career services and alumni network rather than evidence from this specific program's track record.