Mathematics and Statistics at Grinnell College

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.36 suggests manageable financial positioning for this mathematics degree, though both figures come from comparable programs nationally rather than Grinnell's specific outcomes. Similar bachelor's programs in mathematics and statistics typically produce first-year earnings around $59,000, with debt loads just over $21,000—numbers that create reasonable breathing room for recent graduates entering fields like data analysis, actuarial work, or graduate school preparation.

The challenge here is visibility. Grinnell's highly selective profile (13% admission rate, 1486 average SAT) suggests strong student preparation and institutional resources, factors that often correlate with better-than-typical outcomes. Yet we're working with national medians because the math graduate cohort is too small to report publicly. This leaves parents guessing whether Grinnell's liberal arts approach and elite peer network push outcomes above the $59,000 baseline—or whether the college's rural Iowa location creates different employment patterns than programs at larger universities.

What matters most: the estimated ratio sits comfortably below the concerning 1.0 threshold, and mathematics degrees generally offer strong long-term earning trajectories. But parents paying for Grinnell's premium environment deserve better visibility into whether that investment translates to measurably different outcomes than the national median suggests.