Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas at Davis & Elkins College

Davis & Elkins College serves a student body where 40% receive Pell grants, so affordability matters—but since this program's outcomes are estimated from peer institutions rather than actual graduate data, families face real uncertainty about what their investment will produce. Based on comparable programs nationwide, first-year earnings around $43,000 would put this roughly at the national median for subject-specific teacher preparation, with estimated debt of $27,000 creating a manageable 0.63 debt-to-earnings ratio. That sounds reasonable until you look at West Virginia's reality: the two WV schools with reported data show median teacher earnings of just $27,547—nearly $16,000 less than the national figure being used here.

This gap highlights the risk of relying on national estimates for a regionally-focused career like teaching. West Virginia teacher salaries lag significantly behind national averages, and if Davis & Elkins graduates earn closer to what other WV teachers make, that $27,000 debt becomes considerably heavier—nearly a full year's salary rather than two-thirds. The school's 985 average SAT and 58% admission rate suggest it's accessible, but without actual earnings data, you're essentially betting that this program will produce outcomes closer to the national pattern than the state one.

Before committing, families should directly ask Davis & Elkins for graduate employment data and starting salaries specific to their program, and compare those figures—if available—against what local school districts actually pay first-year teachers with this credential.