Business/Managerial Economics at Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

A $22,335 debt load sounds reasonable until you consider what Georgia Tech's peer programs actually deliver. Based on comparable business economics programs in Georgia, first-year earnings of $49,368 would place this program at the median for the state—but UGA and Kennesaw State graduates are earning $53,000+ right out of the gate. For an institution with a 16% admission rate and a 1447 average SAT, those are surprisingly pedestrian returns.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.45 is workable—you'd owe less than half your first year's salary, which is manageable territory. But context matters here: you're paying Georgia Tech tuition and clearing a highly selective admissions bar to potentially earn the same as graduates from less competitive programs. The national median for this major sits at $53,219, suggesting that Tech's business economics program may not leverage the school's prestigious reputation the way its engineering or computer science programs do.

The challenge for parents is weighing the Tech brand against these estimated outcomes. If your child is targeting finance or consulting roles where the Georgia Tech name opens doors, the investment might still pay off beyond what these early earnings suggest. But if they're primarily interested in business analytics or corporate management, programs at UGA or Kennesaw State appear to deliver comparable early-career results with potentially less competitive pressure and similar debt loads.