Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Louisiana State University-Alexandria

A $32,463 starting salary against $26,000 in debt tells you this program will require careful financial planning. LSU-Alexandria's liberal arts degree lands at the 40th percentile among Louisiana programs—basically middle-of-the-pack in a state where these degrees already earn about $4,000 less than the national average. Your child would start about $10,000 behind competing schools like UL-Monroe or McNeese State, though the debt burden here is slightly lower than the state median.

The 11% earnings bump to $36,000 by year four helps close the gap with national averages, but this is fundamentally a degree that generates modest economic returns. With a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.80, graduates will likely need to live frugally during their first few years to manage loan payments comfortably. The 93% admission rate and broad curriculum suggest this program serves students looking for flexibility and access rather than specialized career preparation.

If your child needs a bachelor's degree to check a box for future opportunities—graduate school, certain employers, career pivoting—this is an affordable path to get there. But if the goal is maximizing early-career earnings, the numbers suggest looking at other programs or institutions that place liberal arts graduates in higher-paying positions right out of college.