Social Sciences at Fresno Pacific University

A bachelor's in social sciences from Fresno Pacific comes with an estimated debt load of $27,000—significantly higher than the $16,500 state median for this field and even above the $25,500 national benchmark. When peer programs in California typically produce first-year earnings around $35,000, that debt figure translates to roughly nine months of gross income needed just to cover what you borrowed. For a private university serving predominantly lower-income students (59% receive Pell grants), that's a substantial financial burden to shoulder while establishing your career.

The earnings picture offers little cushion. Social sciences graduates at comparable California programs earn in a narrow band—mid-$30,000s to low-$40,000s in their first year. That modest starting salary makes the debt load harder to manage, especially when CSU campuses appear to deliver similar outcomes with considerably less borrowing required. The 0.77 debt-to-earnings ratio sits in uncomfortable territory: not catastrophic, but tight enough that monthly loan payments will meaningfully constrain your graduate's early-career choices about housing, transportation, and savings.

If your child is drawn to Fresno Pacific specifically for its faith-based mission or community, understand you're likely paying a premium in borrowed money for those intangibles. The estimated numbers suggest graduates face steeper financial hurdles than they would at public alternatives, without evidence of meaningfully better employment outcomes to justify that extra debt.