Education at Piedmont University

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.70—estimated at $27,000 in loans against first-year earnings around $38,660—places this education degree in relatively manageable territory, at least compared to many other fields. Based on national benchmarks for bachelor's-level education programs, these figures align closely with what's typical: the estimated debt here is nearly identical to the national median of $26,522, while earnings match the national median exactly. For a teaching credential, where salaries follow predictable scales and entry-level positions are fairly uniform across schools, this consistency matters.

The challenge is that we're working entirely with estimates here—both earnings and debt figures are derived from peer institutions nationally because Piedmont's graduate sample was too small for the Department of Education to publish. That means parents can't see how *this specific program* performs compared to Georgia's eight other education programs. What we do know is that Piedmont serves a significant population of Pell-eligible students (41%), and teaching is one of the more stable career paths for graduates who need predictable loan repayment.

If your child is committed to teaching and Piedmont offers the right campus environment, the estimated financials shouldn't disqualify it. But with nine education programs in Georgia, it's worth comparing net costs directly—teaching salaries won't vary much by where you train, so the school that costs less wins on pure economics.