Political Science and Government at Randolph College

Based on comparable programs in Virginia, Randolph's political science degree appears to land squarely in the middle of the state pack—peer programs suggest first-year earnings around $41,500, which tracks closely with Virginia's median for this major. The estimated $27,000 debt burden translates to a 0.65 ratio, meaning graduates would owe roughly 8 months of their first year's salary. That's manageable compared to many liberal arts degrees, though it's worth noting that several larger Virginia programs—Liberty, UVA, and George Mason—report actual outcomes about $4,000-5,000 higher annually.

The more significant question is whether political science itself offers the return you're hoping for. Similar programs nationwide produce median earnings of just $35,600, suggesting this field generally underperforms financially regardless of where you study it. Randolph's 95% admission rate and modest SAT scores (1109) indicate it's not competing with the state's most selective institutions, but when 41% of students receive Pell grants, that debt figure becomes more concerning for families without financial cushion. A $27,000 loan on a $41,500 salary is technically serviceable, but it leaves little room for error if your student needs graduate school (common in this field) or faces delays entering the workforce.

Given the estimation uncertainty here, the safer bet would be a program at one of Virginia's larger public universities where you can see actual graduate outcomes, not projections from similar schools.