History at Middlebury College

A Middlebury history degree commands a $5,000 premium over Vermont's median for the major—respectable but surprisingly modest given the school's elite status and 10% admission rate. While earnings of $40,195 place graduates in the 91st percentile nationally, they trail Norwich University's history graduates by nearly $3,000 within Vermont itself. For a school with SAT scores averaging 1500, you might expect more distance from the competition.

The $23,000 median debt is manageable, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.57 that most graduates should handle comfortably. That said, these numbers come from a very small sample—fewer than 30 graduates—which means a handful of outcomes heavily influence the median. The real picture for your child could vary significantly from what's shown here.

The value equation here hinges on what Middlebury offers beyond the salary data: network strength, graduate school placement, and the credential's long-term cachet. If your student is drawn to history for its own sake and plans to leverage Middlebury's alumni connections or pursue graduate work, the modest debt makes this affordable. But if the goal is immediate earning power after graduation, less selective Vermont schools are producing comparable early-career outcomes at potentially lower cost. The small sample size means you'll want to dig into career services data and alumni trajectories before committing.