Psychology at Quincy University

A debt load around $26,000 for a psychology bachelor's—estimated from peer institutions with similar profiles—sits well above what Illinois programs typically produce ($11,630 median) and notably higher than the national median of $16,472. With first-year earnings projected at roughly $36,890 based on comparable psychology programs nationwide, you're looking at a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.70. That's not catastrophic, but it means your child would owe about 8.5 months of gross income, requiring careful budgeting in those early career years when psychology graduates often work in human services, research assistant roles, or entry-level positions while some pursue graduate school.

The real consideration here is whether this specific program justifies carrying $10,000-$15,000 more in debt than other Illinois options. Psychology bachelor's degrees generally produce consistent earnings regardless of where you earn them—Northwestern's graduates start at the same $36,890 according to available data. Unless Quincy offers distinctive research opportunities, clinical partnerships, or graduate school placement rates that significantly outperform state alternatives, the premium in borrowing becomes harder to rationalize. Psychology careers often require graduate credentials for meaningful advancement, which means additional loans down the road.

If your child is set on Quincy for reasons beyond academics—campus fit, specific faculty mentorship, or geographic preference—this debt level remains manageable. But financially, you'd want strong assurance that those intangibles translate into concrete advantages worth the higher borrowing compared to less expensive psychology programs in Illinois.