Psychology at Saint Michael's College

Saint Michael's psychology graduates start at $36,902—well above the national median for psychology majors but trailing most other Vermont programs. While this ranks in the 89th percentile nationally, it falls to just the 40th percentile within Vermont, where the state median is actually $550 higher. For a program with a 92% acceptance rate charging $27,000 in typical debt, that's a meaningful gap. The more selective programs like Middlebury ($43,839) and Norwich ($41,164) deliver substantially stronger outcomes, and even Vermont State matches Saint Michael's starting salary while leaving students with less debt.

The debt picture is reasonable—$27,000 represents just 73% of first-year earnings, which is manageable by bachelor's degree standards. Earnings do grow 13% over four years to $41,738, though this still lags behind what graduates from competing Vermont programs earn right out of college. With nearly 1,400 schools offering psychology degrees nationally, the competition is fierce, and Saint Michael's occupies an awkward middle ground: too expensive to be a value play, not selective or well-connected enough to command premium outcomes.

For Vermont families, this comes down to alternatives. If your child is admitted to Middlebury or Norwich, those programs justify their higher price tags with stronger earnings. If affordability matters most, Vermont State delivers comparable results at lower cost. Saint Michael's works best for students who need the smaller college environment and can handle moderate debt, but it's not the obvious choice on pure return-on-investment.