Business/Managerial Economics at Lycoming College

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.45 sounds manageable on its face, but the bigger question is whether these estimated figures—drawn from national benchmarks—reflect what Lycoming graduates actually experience in Pennsylvania's job market. The gap here is striking: while peer programs across Pennsylvania report median earnings above $82,000, the national comparison group this estimate draws from sits at $53,000. That's a $30,000 difference, and given Williamsport's rural location and smaller employer base compared to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, it's genuinely unclear which end of that spectrum Lycoming graduates land on.

The estimated $24,000 in debt aligns closely with both state and national norms for this credential, so the borrowing picture itself isn't alarming. But if actual earnings skew toward the national figure rather than the Pennsylvania median, that changes the math considerably. Similar programs at Villanova and Lehigh produce starting salaries in the low $80,000s, suggesting that Pennsylvania's business economics market can be quite strong—but those outcomes cluster at more prominent institutions with deeper employer networks.

For an anxious parent, the honest takeaway is this: without reported data from Lycoming itself, you're investing based on assumptions that could swing either way. If the school's regional connections and career services can push outcomes toward Pennsylvania norms, this becomes a solid value. If graduates track closer to the national baseline, you're looking at five years to pay off that debt rather than three.