Chemistry at Muskingum University

A chemistry degree from Muskingum carries an estimated $27,000 in debt—slightly above what similar Ohio programs typically require—for first-year earnings that peer programs in the state suggest will land around $43,349. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.62 means roughly seven months of gross income would go toward debt, which falls within reasonable bounds for STEM fields. However, with an 82% admission rate and average SAT scores well below selective competitors, prospective families should recognize they're paying private-school prices (that debt estimate comes from similar private institutions in Ohio) without the earnings premium that typically justifies that investment.

The challenge here is visibility: the DOE suppresses both earnings and debt data when graduate cohorts are too small, which means we're working entirely from estimates based on other Ohio chemistry programs. Larger public universities in the state—Cincinnati, Akron, Bowling Green—report actual outcomes in the $44,000-$48,000 range with lower debt burdens. Muskingum may well deliver comparable results for its graduates, but without program-specific data, you're essentially betting that a smaller, less selective private college can match what bigger research universities demonstrably achieve.

The practical question is whether Muskingum's smaller classes and personalized attention offset the uncertainty and likely higher costs. If your child needs that environment to thrive academically, the estimated numbers aren't alarming. But if they'd succeed at a public university with clearer outcomes and lower debt, that's the safer financial path.