Business, Management, Marketing, at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Based on comparable business programs nationwide, Saint Mary's produces estimated first-year earnings around $50,740—a figure that looks solid until you compare it to what's happening elsewhere in Minnesota. The University of Minnesota-Crookston, the only other Minnesota school with reportable data for this major, shows graduates earning $82,115, suggesting a roughly $30,000 gap. That kind of difference matters when you're carrying $26,500 in debt, even though the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.52 appears manageable on paper.

What's puzzling here is the four-year earnings figure of $46,754, which actually dips below the estimated first-year number. This could reflect reporting quirks or small sample sizes, but it raises questions about typical salary progression that peer data can't answer. The 89% admission rate and relatively low Pell grant enrollment (22%) suggest this isn't a particularly selective or economically diverse environment, which sometimes correlates with less robust career placement infrastructure.

The fundamental challenge: you're paying similar debt to what Minnesota business graduates typically carry ($29,062 statewide), but the earnings estimates suggest outcomes closer to national averages rather than Minnesota's stronger regional market. If your child has the option to attend a program with actual reported outcomes—particularly one closer to that $82,000 benchmark—the comparison becomes hard to ignore. Without transparent graduate data from Saint Mary's itself, you're essentially betting that their outcomes match the national peer group rather than underperforming it.