Biology at Marymount University

With only a handful of recent graduates in this data set, these numbers are too unreliable to base a major financial decision on—but what we see isn't encouraging. Marymount's biology graduates earn about $31,000 in their first year, placing them in the bottom half of Virginia biology programs and slightly below both state and national medians. Meanwhile, they're graduating with $27,750 in debt, which is actually above-average for biology majors. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.89 means nearly a full year's salary goes to paying down loans.

The real concern is context: top biology programs in Virginia like VMI and Hampden-Sydney are placing graduates at $42,000-$44,000—roughly 40% higher earnings with similar or lower debt loads. Even mid-tier Virginia programs are outperforming Marymount by $6,000-$9,000 annually. For a biology degree that often serves as a stepping stone to graduate or professional school, starting behind peers financially can compound over time.

Before committing here, have a frank conversation about post-graduation plans. If medical school or a PhD is the goal, where the bachelor's degree comes from matters less than GPA and research experience. But if your child plans to work immediately after graduation—in lab positions, research coordination, or science-adjacent fields—this program appears to leave students at a competitive disadvantage compared to other Virginia options, even accounting for the data's small sample limitations.