Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Simmons University

At $39,141 in estimated first-year earnings and $26,750 in projected debt, this liberal arts degree lands squarely at Massachusetts medians for the field—which means it faces the same fundamental challenge confronting general studies programs everywhere: modest starting salaries that require careful financial planning. That 0.68 debt ratio suggests borrowers would carry roughly two-thirds of their first year's income in student loans, a manageable but not comfortable burden that demands discipline to pay down.

What complicates the picture is the Boston premium paradox. Simmons sits in one of America's most expensive metro areas, where $39,000 doesn't stretch nearly as far as it would elsewhere. Similar liberal arts programs across Massachusetts show enormous variation—from MIT's $103,000 (an outlier, admittedly) down to the state median—suggesting that institutional reputation, career services, and alumni networks matter enormously in translating a general degree into actual job opportunities. Without knowing how Simmons specifically performs, you're betting on the school's Boston connections and professional development resources to deliver value beyond what the degree alone provides.

For parents, the key question is whether your student has a clear career pathway that justifies this investment. Liberal arts degrees can lead anywhere, which is both their strength and their risk. If your child plans graduate school, corporate training programs, or specific fields where Simmons has strong placement records, the foundation makes sense. If they're graduating without direction, that $27,000 in debt becomes harder to justify at entry-level wages.