Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at SUNY Old Westbury

Starting salary of $27,165 puts this program in the bottom quarter of liberal arts programs—both nationally (14th percentile) and within New York (25th percentile). That's roughly $9,000 below what the typical New York liberal arts graduate earns. When you're already choosing one of the most challenging majors financially, starting this far behind the curve compounds the difficulty.

The debt load of $24,833 isn't extreme by itself, but paired with those earnings, it creates a debt-to-income ratio near 1:1—meaning graduates owe almost a full year's salary. Compare this to the state's top performers: Molloy graduates in this field earn nearly triple ($74,868), while Cornell grads make $46,072. Even accounting for SUNY Old Westbury's accessible admission and substantial Pell enrollment (47%), these outcomes suggest the program struggles to launch graduates into stable employment.

The major caveat: this data comes from fewer than 30 graduates, so individual circumstances could vary widely. Still, even with that uncertainty, parents should recognize they're looking at below-median outcomes in an already difficult field. If your child is set on liberal arts at a SUNY, explore which campuses produce stronger employment results—this one appears to leave graduates financially vulnerable right when they can least afford it.