Hospitality Administration/Management at Montclair State University

Similar hospitality programs in New Jersey cluster around $38,000 in first-year earnings, which places this Montclair State program right at the state median—though well above the $34,675 national benchmark for bachelor's degrees in hospitality management. The estimated $23,280 in debt sits slightly below both state and national medians, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.61 that suggests graduates could reasonably manage their loans on entry-level hospitality salaries.

The caveat here is significant: both the earnings and debt figures are estimates drawn from comparable programs, not actual outcomes for Montclair's hospitality graduates. The small graduate sample means the Department of Education can't report specific data for this program, making it harder to assess what distinguishes Montclair from its New Jersey competitors like Fairleigh Dickinson or Stockton. The 44% Pell grant enrollment indicates this program serves many students who need aid to attend.

For parents weighing this investment, the estimates suggest reasonable alignment between cost and early career outcomes—if the actual figures hold to peer averages. Given the uncertainty, connecting with recent Montclair hospitality graduates or the program's career services office would provide clearer insight into whether this specific program delivers on the state's relatively strong hospitality earnings compared to the national market.