Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins commands an 8% admission rate and SAT scores in the stratosphere, yet this Liberal Arts bachelor's leaves graduates earning an estimated $36,300—nearly identical to the state median and barely above what students earn from Maryland public universities costing a fraction of the tuition. Based on comparable Liberal Arts programs in Maryland, that first-year salary sits $12,500 below what Notre Dame of Maryland's graduates achieve and even trails Morgan State by $3,400. The estimated $27,000 debt load is manageable, but when you're paying Johns Hopkins prices (likely far higher than that median figure if your family doesn't qualify for substantial aid), this becomes a question of return on elite credentials.

The challenge here is that Hopkins built its reputation on research powerhouses like medicine, engineering, and public health—not general Liberal Arts degrees. Programs like this often serve as exploratory pathways or pre-professional foundations, and the small cohort (hence the suppressed data) suggests most Hopkins students pursue more specialized majors. If your child is genuinely undecided and needs that liberal arts exploration, they could get similar early outcomes at Maryland's public institutions while preserving resources for graduate school, which many Liberal Arts students ultimately need to boost earning power. Hopkins makes sense if there's a clear plan to leverage its research opportunities, network, and graduate programs—not as a $300,000 investment for general studies alone.