Computer Science at Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia

Saint Joseph's computer science grads earn roughly $8,000 less than the national median and $5,000 below the typical Pennsylvania program—a meaningful gap when you're comparing career prospects. With just 30 or so graduates tracked, these numbers might not tell the full story, but they place this program in the bottom 40% of Pennsylvania CS programs. The debt load of $27,000 is actually lighter than average and translates to a manageable 43% debt-to-earnings ratio, so students aren't being crushed by loans even with lower-than-expected starting salaries.

The real question is opportunity cost. Pennsylvania has strong CS programs at public universities where graduates earn $15,000+ more in year one, and elite options like Carnegie Mellon or Penn (though much harder to get into). Saint Joseph's 86% acceptance rate suggests accessibility, but you're trading that for starting salaries that lag regional competitors. For a student who genuinely wants a smaller Catholic university environment and isn't purely career-focused, the debt picture isn't terrible. But if maximizing tech earnings is the goal, this program underdelivers compared to what's available elsewhere in the state. The small sample size means next year's numbers could look different, but today's data shows you'd be paying private school costs for below-average outcomes.