Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Northwest University

Northwest University's Liberal Arts associate's program reports earnings that seem almost too good to be true—and that's because they might be. With fewer than 30 graduates in the data, a single high earner or two could push the $47,645 median far above what typical graduates experience. That caveat aside, the reported figure dwarfs both the Washington state median of $28,025 and the national median of $27,248, placing this program at the 95th percentile in both comparisons.

The debt picture looks reasonable at $12,000, yielding a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.25 that's manageable if these salary figures hold. For context, most Liberal Arts associate's programs leave students with similar debt but earning $20,000 less annually. The university's 88% admission rate and modest Pell Grant enrollment suggest a middle-tier institution where these extraordinary outcomes would be unusual.

Treat these numbers as a promising signal worth investigating rather than a guarantee. With such a small sample, ask the school directly about graduate outcomes: What do their alumni actually do after this degree? Are they transferring to four-year programs while working? The data hints at strong results, but you'll need more information before banking on $47,000 starting salaries from a two-year Liberal Arts degree.