International Business at Roger Williams University

Roger Williams's International Business program lands squarely in the middle of the pack nationally, but outperforms most Rhode Island competitors—ranking in the 60th percentile statewide versus the 47th nationally. At $49,209 first-year earnings, graduates earn about $4,500 more than the typical RI international business graduate, though they trail Bryant's stellar $65,237 by a wide margin. The debt load of $26,494 sits just below the state median, creating a manageable 0.54 debt-to-earnings ratio that's considerably better than many business programs.

The real question is whether this middle-tier outcome justifies attendance at a school with an 88% acceptance rate. You're paying for access and relationships more than selectivity here. For families comfortable with roughly $26,500 in debt to launch a career earning just under $50,000, the math works—that's debt your child could reasonably pay down within a few years. However, the small sample size (under 30 graduates) means one or two outliers could be skewing these numbers significantly in either direction.

If Bryant is unaffordable or out of reach academically, Roger Williams represents a reasonable backup with outcomes that beat the state average. Just know you're getting median national results at near-median debt levels—a fair deal, but nothing exceptional.