Finance and Financial Management Services at University of St Francis

A $53,525 starting salary for finance graduates lands squarely in the middle nationally but below average for Illinois, where the state median sits at $53,893. The gap becomes more striking when you look at what Illinois's strongest finance programs produce: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign graduates earn $75,381 their first year out, while graduates from DePaul and Loyola both clear $66,000. Based on the state median across similar programs, you'd be looking at roughly $25,500 in debt—about 48 cents for every dollar earned in that first year, which represents a manageable ratio but not an exceptional one.

The challenge here isn't the debt load itself, which is reasonable. It's that finance is a field where institutional reputation and alumni networks matter considerably for landing better-paying roles at banks, wealth management firms, or corporate finance departments. At 40th percentile earnings among Illinois finance programs, University of St Francis appears to be competing in a crowded middle tier. The school's moderate selectivity and average SAT of 1055 suggest it serves students well, but those students aren't accessing the same early career opportunities that peer programs provide.

For a family weighing this investment, the question is whether $53,500 meets your financial expectations for a finance degree, especially when stronger programs in the state are within reach depending on your student's academic profile. The debt is reasonable enough to service, but the earnings trajectory matters more in finance than in many fields.