Computer and Information Sciences at Davidson College

Davidson's Computer Science bachelor's costs roughly $25,000 in debt—right at the national median—but estimated first-year earnings of $54,000 fall $7,000 below the national benchmark and sit at the bottom of North Carolina's range. These figures come from comparable programs in the state since Davidson's own graduate numbers are too small to report publicly. That $54,000 estimate places Davidson near UNC Wilmington but notably behind public universities like NC Central ($75,000) and East Carolina ($69,000), where computer science graduates command substantially higher starting salaries.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.46 isn't alarming by itself—you'd pay off roughly half a year's salary over ten years—but it raises questions about value given Davidson's elite positioning (14% admission rate, 1448 average SAT). Liberal arts colleges sometimes trade lower initial tech salaries for broader preparation that pays off later, though we can't verify that pattern here without Davidson's actual outcomes. The $25,000 debt burden is manageable if those estimated earnings prove accurate, but parents should recognize they're investing in prestige whose career payoff remains undocumented for this specific program.

Before committing, contact Davidson's career services for placement details: which companies recruit on campus, where recent CS graduates actually landed, and what their real starting salaries look like. The school's selectivity suggests strong outcomes are possible, but without confirmed data, you're betting on institutional reputation rather than proven results for computer science specifically.