Human Development, Family Studies, at Mount Saint Mary's University

Mount Saint Mary's graduates earn just $28,453 a year after completing this program—about $3,500 below California's median and nearly $5,000 under the national benchmark. That 16th percentile national ranking is concerning, though the 40th percentile within California suggests the state's higher cost of living creates challenging outcomes across the board. Still, compare this to California State University-East Bay, where graduates from the same program earn $41,195, nearly 45% more.

The debt load of $26,500 feels manageable in absolute terms, and the 0.93 debt-to-earnings ratio stays just under the concerning 1.0 threshold. However, most California schools manage to graduate students with far less debt—the state median is just $18,306. Given that 55% of students here receive Pell grants, many families may already be stretching financially, and taking on above-average debt for below-average earnings compounds that challenge.

The small sample size (under 30 graduates) means a few outliers could skew these numbers, but even accounting for that uncertainty, this program doesn't show the earning power you'd want for a $26,500 investment. If your child is committed to human development and family studies, the CSU system offers multiple programs with similar admission standards but significantly stronger outcomes at lower cost.