Physics at Western Michigan University

A debt-to-earnings ratio under 0.5 is solid territory for a bachelor's degree, and the estimated $23,424 in debt against $47,670 in first-year earnings puts this program within manageable bounds. Physics bachelor's degrees at comparable institutions nationally suggest these figures are realistic benchmarks, though without actual graduate data from Western Michigan, you're working with approximations. The state context is worth noting: Michigan's physics programs show a wide spread, from Michigan State's $33,400 to U-M Ann Arbor's $53,000, with WMU's estimated earnings falling right at the national median.

Physics graduates often pursue graduate school or enter technical fields where starting salaries improve significantly after that first year, so the $47,670 estimate may understate the program's eventual value. The 85% admission rate and modest SAT profile suggest WMU serves a different student population than Michigan's flagship universities, yet the estimated earnings don't reflect a dramatic penalty—they're actually higher than MSU's reported figure.

The practical question is whether this specific program performs better or worse than these peer estimates suggest. Without actual graduate outcomes, you're betting on WMU delivering results similar to the national median. That's a reasonable gamble given the manageable debt load, but it's still a gamble—especially if your student could access one of Michigan's higher-performing physics programs at comparable cost.