Business Administration, Management and Operations at Southwestern Adventist University

The earnings here are genuinely concerning. Southwestern Adventist graduates start at $34,000—well below Texas's median of $44,000 for business degrees and ranking in just the 5th percentile nationally. While the debt load of $27,000 isn't catastrophic, pairing it with such low earnings creates a challenging financial start. For context, the typical Texas business graduate earns 30% more right out of the gate, making it significantly easier to manage similar debt levels.

The small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could shift with more data, but the gap is too substantial to dismiss. Even among Texas programs, which include many regional schools, this ranks only in the 25th percentile. When you consider that UT Austin and several other Texas schools produce business graduates earning $60,000-plus in their first year, the opportunity cost becomes stark—especially if your child could gain admission to a more competitive program.

If Southwestern Adventist offers something uniquely valuable to your family—perhaps the religious mission or campus community—that's worth weighing. But purely as a return-on-investment decision for a business degree, these numbers suggest looking at other Texas options where graduates typically launch careers with significantly higher earning potential and similar or lower debt burdens.