Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology

With estimated first-year earnings of $78,000 against $24,000 in debt, Vaughn's electrical engineering program appears to align closely with typical outcomes across New York state. The 0.31 debt-to-earnings ratio suggests graduates could manage their loans on a reasonable timeline, though it's worth noting these figures come from similar engineering programs statewide rather than Vaughn's specific track record due to small graduate cohorts.

The real question is whether Vaughn can match the trajectory of New York's top engineering schools. Cornell and Syracuse graduates start at $100,000 and $84,000 respectively, creating a roughly $6,000-22,000 earnings gap compared to what peer programs suggest for Vaughn. For a specialized aviation-focused institution serving a largely Pell-eligible student body (53%), that gap might reflect different career pathways—aerospace manufacturing versus tech giants—rather than program quality alone.

The manageable debt load matters here. Even if Vaughn graduates land closer to the state median than the top tier, they're not betting heavily on catching up later. The debt burden stays proportional to realistic first-year earnings in the field, which gives graduates some breathing room to build their careers without the pressure of outsized loan payments.