Marketing at Oral Roberts University

At first glance, ORU's marketing program appears to underperform—graduates earn about $3,100 less than the national median. But zoom in to Oklahoma, and the picture shifts: these graduates actually out-earn the typical Oklahoma marketing grad by $600 and place in the 60th percentile statewide. For students planning to stay in Oklahoma (where the cost of living runs lower than coastal markets), this program delivers competitive results at a manageable debt load of $22,000.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.53 means graduates owe roughly half their first-year salary, which should be payable within a few years on a standard repayment plan. However, the small sample size here matters—with fewer than 30 graduates in the data, a few outliers could skew these numbers significantly in either direction. What we can say: ORU marketing grads aren't breaking into the $50,000+ territory that Oklahoma's flagship university delivers, but they're holding their own against other regional options.

For an anxious parent, this comes down to cost and geography. If your child can attend at in-state tuition rates and plans to work in Oklahoma, the numbers work. But families banking on dramatically higher earning potential should look closely at OU's $57,000 median—a $16,000 annual premium that could justify the investment if your student is competitive for admission there.