Communication and Media Studies at Ohio Wesleyan University

A communication degree from Ohio Wesleyan would likely come with debt of around $26,100—slightly above both the national and Ohio medians for this field—while similar programs in the state suggest first-year earnings near $35,800. That debt burden equals about 73% of first-year income, which means your child would owe roughly three-quarters of what they'd earn in their first year out of college. While manageable compared to some fields, this sits uncomfortably close to the cautionary threshold of 100% that financial experts warn against.

The challenge becomes clearer when you look at what other Ohio schools achieve with reported data. Denison's communication graduates earn $47,400 in their first year, while Ohio State and Cincinnati graduates both clear $41,000. Even if Ohio Wesleyan's actual outcomes match the state median we're using as our estimate, that still represents a significant earnings gap—potentially $5,000 to $12,000 less annually than peer institutions. In a field where connections and internship networks often matter as much as coursework, that gap deserves investigation into what specific career support and industry relationships Ohio Wesleyan provides its communication students.

The takeaway: at this debt level for these estimated earnings, your child would likely manage payments but with less financial breathing room than graduates from higher-earning programs nearby. Before committing, ask the school directly about actual placement rates and starting salaries for recent communication graduates—the suppressed data means you're making a decision with incomplete information about this specific program's track record.