Mathematics at Marshall University

With an estimated debt load of $21,500 and first-year earnings around $49,000, this mathematics degree appears financially manageable—a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.44 suggests graduates could reasonably pay off loans within a few years. These figures come from national patterns across similar bachelor's programs in math, since Marshall's own graduate sample was too small to report. The estimated earnings align with the national median for math degrees, which is reassuring: your child wouldn't be paying a premium for outcomes that lag behind peer institutions.

The real question is what your child plans to do with this degree. Mathematics bachelors can lead to varied paths—teaching, data analysis, actuarial work, graduate school—with dramatically different earning trajectories. Similar programs nationally produce starting salaries ranging from under $40,000 to well over $55,000 depending on career direction. Marshall's 96% admission rate and modest SAT scores suggest it's accessible, but you'll want to understand whether the program has strong placement relationships with regional employers or graduate schools, particularly since West Virginia's job market for math graduates may be more limited than coastal metros.

The numbers suggest reasonable financial risk if your child has a clear plan for using the degree. Without actual Marshall-specific outcomes, focus on talking to current students and recent alumni about where they landed jobs and whether the program adequately prepared them for those specific career paths.