Film/Video and Photographic Arts at Oberlin College

Oberlin's Film/Video program sits at the 60th percentile among Ohio schools, but that's less impressive than it sounds—the state median earnings ($23,519) trail the national figure by about $1,600. More concerning, graduates here earn roughly $20,000 less than their peers at Columbus College of Art & Design. With debt matching the national median at $25,500, you're looking at a debt-to-earnings ratio just over 1:1, meaning first-year earnings barely cover what's owed. This is typical for creative fields, but at a school where admission is selective and less than 10% of students receive Pell grants, many families may be paying premium tuition for middle-of-the-pack outcomes.

The small sample size here—fewer than 30 graduates—means these numbers could shift significantly year to year, so they're better understood as a directional indicator than a precise forecast. What's clear is that this program doesn't appear to deliver the career advantages you might expect from Oberlin's academic reputation. Starting salaries in the low $20,000s are common across film programs, but families investing in a selective private college often hope for stronger professional networks or placement opportunities that translate to better early earnings.

If your child is passionate about film and deeply values Oberlin's liberal arts environment, this could still be the right choice—just recognize you're paying for the experience and education itself, not accelerated career earnings. Students who need their degree to quickly translate into income should look carefully at those Ohio alternatives.