Economics at Rollins College

That small sample size warning matters here—something unusual may be happening with Rollins' economics graduates. First-year earnings of $36,115 lag substantially behind other Florida economics programs, falling $11,000 below the state median and ranking in just the 5th percentile nationally. Even nearby University of Central Florida, a public institution, sees its economics graduates earning $47,743 right out of college. For a selective private school with a 41% admission rate and strong SAT scores, these initial outcomes seem misaligned with the institution's academic profile.

The dramatic jump to $69,175 by year four tells a different story, suggesting either delayed career launches or graduates entering fields with steep early trajectories. Still, with fewer than 30 graduates in this dataset, a handful of high earners could be skewing that four-year figure significantly. The $26,000 debt burden is reasonable and slightly above state norms, but the 0.72 debt-to-earnings ratio based on that weak first-year salary creates a challenging initial period.

Given the data's reliability concerns and the consistently stronger outcomes at Florida's public universities, parents should verify current graduate outcomes directly with Rollins before committing. If your student is set on economics at a private Florida institution, University of Tampa's $54,284 starting salary offers more immediate stability at a comparable price point.