Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Saint Edward's University

A liberal arts degree financed with $27,000 in loans is a workable proposition if the earnings materialize, but Saint Edward's offers no actual graduate data to confirm outcomes. The estimated $38,800 first-year salary comes from Texas programs statewide—not from tracking what happens to Saint Edward's own graduates. That figure sits at the state median but falls well short of what students earn from comparable programs at UT Austin ($45,243) or University of St. Thomas ($53,187), both of which report actual outcomes.

The 0.70 debt-to-earnings ratio looks reasonable on paper, suggesting manageable loan payments. But liberal arts degrees depend heavily on what students do with them—networking, internships, and the strength of alumni connections matter enormously. In Austin's competitive job market, where tech and professional services dominate, a general studies degree needs either a clear career pathway or graduate school plans to justify the investment. Without visibility into where Saint Edward's graduates actually land, you're betting on the school's reputation and location advantage.

If your child is choosing Saint Edward's for its Austin setting and personalized education (note the 39% Pell Grant population and 84% admission rate), understand you're making that choice without outcome transparency. The estimated numbers suggest survivable debt, but nothing here confirms whether this specific program delivers competitive career traction. Before committing, ask the admissions office directly about job placement rates and typical graduate destinations—not just for the university, but for this major specifically.