General Sales, Merchandising at Newman University

With first-year earnings around $53,000 and debt near $25,000, this bachelor's in sales and merchandising aligns closely with national patterns for the field. Based on peer programs across the country, graduates typically earn enough to keep debt manageable—the estimated debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.46 suggests borrowers would be paying back roughly half a year's salary, which is well within reasonable territory. Newman is one of only two Kansas schools tracked in this specialty, making direct local comparisons difficult, but the national benchmarks offer useful context.

The challenge lies in the estimation itself. Because Newman's graduate pool is too small for the Department of Education to report actual outcomes, we're relying on what similar programs produce elsewhere. This means your child could do better or worse depending on factors like their career drive, the quality of Newman's industry connections in Wichita, and how well they leverage internships and networking. Sales careers often reward hustle and relationship-building more than pedigree, so individual results can vary widely even within the same program.

For parents weighing this investment, the fundamentals look sound on paper—manageable debt relative to expected earnings. But given the lack of school-specific data, visit campus to ask pointed questions: Where do graduates actually land jobs? What's the internship placement rate? Do local Wichita employers recruit from Newman? The answers to those questions matter more here than the estimated numbers.