Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at Western Michigan University

Western Michigan's aerospace engineering graduates start about $5,000 below the Michigan median and trail University of Michigan by more than $10,000—a meaningful gap in a small state market with only two programs. While the 40th percentile ranking among Michigan schools sounds middling, remember there are only two options here, making this effectively the lower-tier choice. Nationally, landing in the 25th percentile confirms this program underperforms most aerospace engineering degrees across the country.

The silver lining is genuinely impressive: graduating with just $28,000 in debt represents the 5th percentile nationally, meaning 95% of aerospace programs saddle students with more debt. That's a real advantage. Earnings do grow 19% to reach $83,000 by year four, which is solid, and the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.40 means graduates should be able to manage payments without major strain.

Here's the practical consideration: if your child can gain admission to Michigan's Ann Arbor program, that roughly $10,000 annual earnings premium compounds significantly over a career. But if Western Michigan offers substantially lower tuition (especially in-state) or represents the realistic acceptance option, the low debt burden makes this workable. Just understand you're trading some earning potential for affordability—a reasonable tradeoff if the alternative is either no aerospace degree or significantly more debt elsewhere.