Biology at Western New England University

Western New England's biology program comes with $27,000 in debt—remarkably low for a private university bachelor's degree and placing it in just the 5th percentile nationally. The catch? Earnings data for this program is unavailable, so we're looking at estimates based on 34 comparable biology programs across Massachusetts that suggest around $42,000 in first-year earnings. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.64 looks manageable on paper, but without knowing this program's actual graduate outcomes, you're betting that Western New England performs at least as well as the typical Massachusetts biology program.

That's not an unreasonable bet—the estimated earnings align with the state median and sit comfortably above the national benchmark of $32,000. But notice that the top-performing biology programs in Massachusetts are producing first-year earnings in the $46,000-$52,000 range. If Western New England's graduates land closer to the state average than to those leaders, the relatively low debt keeps this affordable. If they underperform the state median, you're looking at a steeper climb to financial stability.

The low debt load is the real story here and provides meaningful cushion against uncertainty. For biology majors planning graduate or professional school—common in this field—graduating with $27,000 rather than $40,000+ matters tremendously. Just recognize you're making this decision with limited visibility into how this specific program's graduates actually fare in the job market.