History at Ripon College

A $25,421 starting salary with nearly $27,000 in debt creates an immediate financial strain that's hard to justify, even accounting for the small sample size here. This program ranks in the bottom quarter among Wisconsin history programs—earning about $7,000 less than the state median and trailing far behind public options like UW-Whitewater ($40,807) and UW-Madison ($35,959). Nationally, it sits in just the 14th percentile, meaning 86% of history programs produce better first-year outcomes.

The debt load itself is actually reasonable relative to other schools, but that's cold comfort when earnings are this low. A 1.06 debt-to-earnings ratio means graduates owe more than they make in their first year—a challenging position for launching adult life, covering rent, and making loan payments. While history majors anywhere face career-building challenges early on, starting $7,000 behind your Wisconsin peers makes that climb steeper.

The small sample size means these numbers could shift with more data, but even allowing for statistical noise, it's difficult to see how this represents better value than Wisconsin's strong public university system. Unless your child has compelling non-financial reasons for choosing Ripon specifically, the state's flagship and regional campuses offer substantially better earnings outcomes at similar or lower debt levels.