Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences at Keene State College

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.62 signals manageable financial footing for graduates launching geoscience careers, though the lack of program-specific data here means families are navigating with estimates rather than hard evidence. The figures—roughly $40,000 in first-year earnings against $25,000 in debt—come from national medians across similar bachelor's programs, not from Keene State graduates themselves. That distinction matters when New Hampshire's sole program with reported outcomes (Southern New Hampshire University) shows earnings around $46,000, suggesting regional graduates may do better than the national baseline.

The challenge is that geosciences can encompass everything from environmental consulting to oil and gas exploration, with vastly different career trajectories. Keene State's liberal arts emphasis may steer students toward environmental roles or public sector positions rather than higher-paying extraction industry jobs, which could explain why estimates derived from a broad national pool may not capture the program's actual outcomes. With Keene's accessible admission profile and modest Pell enrollment, this might serve students seeking environmental careers well, but the lack of transparent data makes it impossible to confirm whether graduates actually achieve the estimated returns.

If your student is drawn to environmental work and values a small-college setting, the estimated numbers aren't prohibitive. But push the school for alumni outcomes before committing—when a program's graduate pool is too small to generate published data, talking to recent grads becomes essential rather than optional.