Public Policy Analysis at Trinity College

Trinity's Public Policy Analysis graduates earn nearly $57,000 in their first year—crushing both the national median ($44,740) and dramatically outperforming Connecticut's other programs, where the median sits at just $33,424. That's a 70% earnings premium over other Connecticut policy programs, placing Trinity in the 95th percentile statewide. Even the University of Connecticut system, which dominates the state's public policy landscape, falls $23,000 short of Trinity's outcomes.

The $23,161 median debt sits right at the national average and actually comes in below Connecticut's typical policy program debt of $25,964. With a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.41, graduates should be able to manage their loans comfortably—they're borrowing less than half their first-year salary. Trinity's selective admissions (34% acceptance rate, 1396 SAT average) likely contribute to these strong outcomes, though the low Pell percentage (15%) suggests these results may partly reflect student advantages coming in.

The major caveat: this data comes from fewer than 30 graduates, so individual circumstances heavily influence these numbers. Still, the earnings gap over other Connecticut programs is too large to dismiss as statistical noise. For families choosing between Connecticut policy programs, Trinity's outcomes justify serious consideration despite the small sample warning.