Statistics at Marshall University

Statistics graduates nationally earn a median of $59,718 in their first year, and with estimated debt around $20,000, Marshall's program appears to align with these broader patterns. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.34 suggests manageable repayment—roughly a third of first-year income, well below the traditional threshold where student loans become burdensome.

What makes this analysis challenging is that Marshall is the only institution in West Virginia offering a bachelor's in statistics, and the actual outcomes for its graduates aren't publicly available due to small cohort sizes. The $59,718 earnings figure comes from peer programs nationally, not from tracking where Marshall's own statistics majors land. Given the university's 96% admission rate and modest SAT profile, there's legitimate uncertainty about whether Marshall students achieve outcomes similar to the national pool of statistics programs, which likely includes more selective institutions.

The quantitative skills from a statistics degree travel well across industries—from healthcare to finance to tech—which provides some buffer against regional labor market limitations in West Virginia. But parents should recognize they're working with educated guesses rather than documented outcomes. If your child is choosing Marshall for in-state tuition or family proximity, the estimated numbers suggest reasonable value. If they're considering out-of-state options, you'll want to compare programs where you can see actual graduate outcomes rather than relying on national proxies.