Mathematics at Wesleyan University

A mathematics degree from one of Connecticut's most selective colleges—17% admission rate, 1513 average SAT—comes with an estimated $21,750 in debt, slightly below the national median for math programs. Based on Connecticut's math bachelor's programs, graduates typically earn around $53,284 in their first year, placing them right at the state median and above the national benchmark of $48,772. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.41 suggests manageable repayment, with total debt representing less than half of first-year income.

What's harder to gauge is whether Wesleyan's distinctive features—its open curriculum, small class sizes, and liberal arts approach to quantitative fields—translate into the kind of career outcomes that justify choosing it over UConn (which reports the same typical first-year earnings) or Trinity College (where math graduates report earning $63,076). The student body profile—just 15% Pell-eligible—suggests families here often have resources beyond what debt figures capture, potentially enabling graduate school or strategic career moves that don't immediately show up in year-one earnings data.

The practical question: if your family is stretching to afford Wesleyan, the estimated numbers suggest reasonable debt but don't demonstrate a clear earnings advantage over Connecticut's public option. If graduate school in mathematics, economics, or data science is likely—and Wesleyan's academic reputation could help there—the investment makes more sense than these first-year figures alone might indicate.