Psychology at Southwestern University

Southwestern's psychology program lands right in the middle of the pack—40th percentile among Texas schools—but that middle ground means graduates earn substantially less than peers at stronger programs in the state. First-year earnings of $30,373 trail the top Texas programs by $10,000 to $15,000 annually, a meaningful gap when you're carrying $26,000 in debt. While the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.86 isn't disastrous, it's not particularly strong either, especially for a selective liberal arts college with a 39% admission rate and solid SAT scores.

The small sample size here matters. With fewer than 30 graduates in the data, one or two students with unusually high or low outcomes can skew the numbers significantly. That said, the pattern isn't encouraging: earnings barely match the national and state medians despite Southwestern's competitive admissions profile. Psychology majors at similar private universities in Texas are seeing substantially better outcomes.

If your child is set on psychology and drawn to Southwestern's small-college environment, understand they'll likely need a plan beyond the bachelor's degree—whether that's graduate school, strategic internships, or a complementary minor—to justify the investment. The debt load is manageable, but the earnings don't give much breathing room for repayment while building a career.