Public Administration at CUNY Medgar Evers College

Before dismissing this program over its below-median earnings, consider what it's actually delivering: graduates leave with just $19,187 in debt, manageable enough that first-year earnings cover it in roughly five months. That's a debt load 25% lower than New York's median for public administration programs. For a school serving heavily low-income students (57% receive Pell grants), this conservative borrowing approach matters—especially when comparing to private alternatives that might saddle graduates with twice the debt.

The earnings story is more nuanced. At $43,317, graduates earn slightly below both state and national medians, landing around the 40th percentile either way. The small sample size here (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could swing significantly with just a few data points. Still, the gap isn't dramatic: about $3,000 below the New York median and $2,000 below the national figure. You're not paying prestige prices at a CUNY school with an 83% admission rate, but you're getting predictable, public-sector-ready credentials without the financial risk.

For families prioritizing debt avoidance over earnings maximization, this represents a viable path into government and nonprofit work. The question isn't whether you could earn more elsewhere—programs like Syracuse show you probably could—but whether the additional earnings justify substantially higher costs. If your student plans to work in public service, where loan forgiveness programs exist, keeping debt this low from day one provides meaningful financial flexibility.