Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology

RIT's communications program trails most New York alternatives by a meaningful margin. At $36,664, graduates earn roughly $2,000 less than the state median and $8,000 below what nearby competitors like Hofstra and Pace deliver. The 40th percentile state ranking means six out of ten similar programs in New York produce better outcomes. This is surprising given RIT's solid reputation and competitive admissions profile—the average SAT of 1378 suggests these students could likely gain admission to higher-earning programs.

The one bright spot is debt: $27,000 ranks in just the 5th percentile nationally, meaning 95% of similar programs saddle graduates with more loans. Still, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.74 isn't particularly favorable when starting salaries barely crack $36,000. That's a monthly student loan payment consuming a substantial chunk of entry-level take-home pay in an expensive state like New York.

The critical caveat here is sample size—fewer than 30 graduates means a few outliers could skew these numbers significantly. If your child is seriously considering this path at RIT, request placement data directly from the department and ask specifically about outcomes for students pursuing corporate communications versus agency work, as salary trajectories can differ dramatically. For now, the data suggests other New York programs offer stronger financial returns for this career path.