Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Wilmington College

Wilmington College's liberal arts program faces a fundamental challenge: comparable programs in Ohio suggest first-year earnings around $40,500 against estimated debt of $27,600. That 0.68 debt-to-earnings ratio sits just below the concerning 1.0 threshold, but the underlying issue is what those numbers represent—a humanities degree that barely clears $40,000 annually in a state where top liberal arts programs produce graduates earning $47,000 or more.

What makes this harder to evaluate is the uncertainty. With both earnings and debt estimated from peer institutions rather than Wilmington's actual outcomes, you're essentially betting on whether this school can match the Ohio median performance. The school serves a significant population of Pell-eligible students (37%), which often correlates with higher debt loads, yet the estimated debt here is actually lower than the state median of $31,000. If that estimate holds, it's a positive sign. But if Wilmington's graduates earn below the state average while carrying typical debt, the math deteriorates quickly.

The national context offers little comfort—Ohio's liberal arts programs already outperform the national median by about $4,000, so this program is riding on state-level strength rather than institutional distinction. For families considering Wilmington, the question isn't whether liberal arts can work financially (it can, as Xavier demonstrates), but whether this particular program will deliver results closer to the $40,000 state average or fall short in ways the suppressed data prevents us from seeing.