Biology at Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion

Indiana Wesleyan's biology program lands exactly at Indiana's median for first-year earnings ($36,161), which sounds reassuring until you notice it lags behind every major program in the state—from Purdue at $40,145 to regional options like Southern Indiana at $38,985. The 75th percentile national ranking reflects more on biology's generally modest starting salaries than this program's particular strength.

The debt picture offers better news: $22,875 is roughly $2,000 below both state and national medians, creating a manageable 0.63 debt-to-earnings ratio. That means graduates enter the workforce with less financial pressure than peers elsewhere, though they're still earning $7,500 less than Indiana State graduates in the same field. For students planning graduate school (common in biology), lower debt provides important flexibility.

The caveat here matters considerably—with fewer than 30 graduates in the dataset, one or two career outcomes can swing these numbers dramatically. If your child is considering pre-med, veterinary school, or graduate research, this program's value hinges entirely on factors this data can't capture: advising quality, lab opportunities, and graduate school placement rates. For students planning to work immediately after graduation, the earnings gap compared to Indiana's top programs suggests exploring alternatives, particularly if out-of-pocket costs are similar.