Psychology at Kent State University at Tuscarawas

With psychology graduates nationwide earning around $31,500 in their first year, Kent State Tuscarawas students start at $28,500—landing in just the 25th percentile nationally. While this puts the program below average compared to psychology programs across the country, it performs closer to the middle of the pack within Ohio, ranking at the 40th percentile among the state's 74 psychology programs.

The debt picture offers some relief. At $25,000, graduates carry exactly Ohio's median debt load for psychology majors and slightly less than the national average. This keeps the debt-to-earnings ratio manageable at 0.88, meaning graduates can expect to earn more than their total debt in their first year. The 23% earnings growth over four years is also encouraging, bringing graduates to nearly $35,000 by their fourth year post-graduation.

For parents considering this program, the key question is whether the lower starting salary justifies the cost savings of attending a regional campus. While graduates won't match the earning power of those from top Ohio programs like Kenyon ($39,200) or Muskingum ($37,600), they also won't face crushing debt loads. This makes the program a reasonable choice for students planning graduate school in psychology, where undergraduate prestige matters less than keeping debt manageable for the additional education ahead.