Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Similar bachelor's programs in legal studies nationally suggest first-year earnings around $39,000—a modest return that creates real tension with the estimated $27,000 debt load from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. With over half the students receiving Pell grants, many families here are already stretching financially, and a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.69 means graduates would be carrying roughly two-thirds of their annual salary in student loans. That's manageable compared to some programs, but tight for a field that doesn't typically lead to high-earning legal careers without additional credentials.

The limited data here matters: we're working with estimates from peer institutions because too few students have completed this specific program for the Department of Education to publish outcomes. That's not necessarily a red flag about the program itself, but it does mean parents are making decisions with less certainty than they'd have with established programs that have years of graduate data. Indiana's other legal studies programs show dramatically higher debt loads (the state median is $57,500), suggesting Saint Mary-of-the-Woods may actually offer better value than local alternatives—but without reported data, we can't verify this program's actual track record.

The practical question is whether your child plans to continue to law school or pursue paralegal certification, which would justify this as a stepping stone. As a terminal degree leading directly to work, these estimated earnings suggest a challenging first few years financially, particularly for families without substantial savings to supplement entry-level wages.