Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Southwestern College

A general liberal arts bachelor's degree from a small Kansas school comes with uncertainties worth examining carefully. Southwestern College's program generates estimated earnings around $41,200 based on comparable Kansas programs—roughly matching the state median but coming with an estimated $29,000 in debt. That 0.70 debt-to-earnings ratio sits in reasonable territory, but these figures lack the confidence that actual graduate outcomes would provide.

The earnings estimate aligns with what larger Kansas schools like Fort Hays State and KU report for their liberal arts graduates, suggesting Southwestern's outcomes may be competitive. However, the debt figure appears notably higher than the state median of $26,573, potentially reflecting differences in financial aid packaging at smaller private institutions. For a program serving 39% Pell-eligible students, that debt premium matters—it's an extra $2,400 to finance before your graduate lands their first job.

The fundamental challenge is that you're being asked to evaluate a program based entirely on what happens at peer institutions, not what Southwestern itself delivers. If this program typically had strong outcomes, we'd expect to see actual data rather than suppressed figures. Request specific placement information from the school: where do their liberal arts graduates actually work, and what do they earn? Without clearer evidence that Southwestern's version of this broad degree opens doors worth the private-school debt load, you're essentially betting on comparables rather than proven results.