Biology at Saint Johns University

Saint John's biology graduates start below the Minnesota median at $34,684, placing them in just the 40th percentile among state programs—roughly $1,300 behind the typical Minnesota biology grad and significantly trailing competitors like Saint Cloud State ($44,166) and Metropolitan State ($42,128). For a program with a 90% admission rate, these outcomes suggest students aren't getting the boost they might expect from a small liberal arts college environment.

The silver lining is the 26% earnings growth over four years, which helps close some of that gap, and remarkably low debt levels ($27,000 versus a national median of $25,000). With a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.78, graduates face manageable loan payments even with the modest starting salary. The program performs well nationally—65th percentile—but that's largely because biology salaries are weak across the country; within Minnesota's more competitive landscape, this program doesn't stand out.

Parents should recognize that several public Minnesota universities deliver substantially better earnings outcomes at similar debt levels. Unless the Benedictine tradition or campus culture at Saint John's offers compelling personal value, the numbers point toward exploring other in-state options that could mean $5,000-10,000 more in annual earnings from day one.