Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) at Fontbonne University

A bachelor's degree in legal studies typically positions graduates for paralegal or compliance roles rather than attorney positions, and the earnings reflect that limitation. Based on national benchmarks from similar programs, first-year earnings around $39,162 align exactly with what's typical for this credential—though that's modest compensation given the time and cost investment. The estimated $27,000 in debt sits slightly above the national median for these programs, resulting in a debt burden that equals about eight months of gross income, which is manageable but requires careful planning.

What complicates the assessment for Fontbonne specifically is that we're working entirely from estimates derived from peer institutions, since the graduate cohort here was too small for the Department of Education to report actual outcomes. The 95% admission rate and high Pell enrollment (48%) suggest the school serves students who may have limited alternatives, but without direct outcome data, there's no way to know whether Fontbonne's program delivers better or worse results than the national baseline. The legal studies field is particularly sensitive to local market connections and employer relationships, factors that won't show up in these broad comparisons.

Your child would be financing a credential that typically leads to middle-income support roles rather than high-earning positions. That can be perfectly reasonable if the career path aligns with their goals and they can keep debt near or below this estimate, but the lack of program-specific data means you're essentially betting on Fontbonne performing at least as well as the national average without evidence to confirm it.