Private nonprofit · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Salem College

Winston-Salem, NC · 6 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

MODELED SCENARIO · Negative payoff

−$268,708 over 10 years

Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.

At these assumptions, the estimated earnings premium does not recover the modeled economic investment within ten years.

Modeled economic break-even
−106%Modeled 10-year ROI
$43,440Observed earnings · year 5
Economic ROI includes direct price and earnings forgone during study · $45,000 comparison earnings · values held flat · see the formula
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK

Estimated payoff over ten years.

The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.

10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$268,708at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$253,1080
2
4
6
8
−$268,70810
Years after graduationBreak-even: years
FEDERAL COST DATA

Four ways to read college price.

Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.

Published in-state tuition$33,848
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$33,848
Sticker price
Average net price$18,277
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$48,532
Tuition + living budget
PRICE SOURCECollege reported · annual amount · federal dataset
OBSERVED FEDERAL MEASURES

Cost, debt, completion and earnings context

$18,277Average net price / year
$48,532Cost of attendance
$26,649Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$283/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$43,440Median earnings · year 5 after completion
57.4%Completion rate
76.7%Admission rate
423Student size

Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.

PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME

Average net price is not one price

Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.

$0–30k$19,074
$30–48k$16,001
$48–75k$16,147
$75–110k$19,940
$110k+$24,027
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$43,440
Year 6$38,496
Year 10$44,640
Full-time retention
67.5%
Part-time retention
50.0%
Completion within 200% of normal time
61.8%

Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.

NATIONAL CONTEXT

How this college compares

Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.

45thEarnings percentile
49thCompletion percentile
WHAT STANDS OUT

A faster read on this college

These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.

$49,464Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$26,750Median federal debt across categories that report debt
40%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$34,178Year 1
$49,227Year 4
$43,440Year 5

Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.

PROGRAM PAYOFF SPREAD

The college average is not the whole story.

Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.

1Business Administration, Management and Operations · Bachelor's Degree$68,4312Student Counseling and Personnel Services · Master's Degree$61,4993Psychology, General · Bachelor's Degree$49,4644Education, General · Bachelor's Degree$47,4885Criminal Justice and Corrections · Bachelor's Degree$45,560

Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding

BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in NC

Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.

Elizabeth City, NC

Mid-Atlantic Christian University

Annual net price
$18,328
Observed earnings · year 5
$44,795
Modeled 10-year ROI
-101%
Open college profile →
Mars Hill, NC

Mars Hill University

Annual net price
$19,910
Observed earnings · year 5
$44,276
Modeled 10-year ROI
-103%
Open college profile →
Charlotte, NC

Johnson C Smith University

Annual net price
$20,894
Observed earnings · year 5
$43,653
Modeled 10-year ROI
-105%
Open college profile →
Winston-Salem, NC

Carolina University

Annual net price
$20,828
Observed earnings · year 5
$43,737
Modeled 10-year ROI
-105%
Open college profile →
ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt
Business Administration, Management and OperationsBachelor's Degree$68,431$27,000
Student Counseling and Personnel ServicesMaster's Degree$61,499Not available
Psychology, GeneralBachelor's Degree$49,464$27,000
Education, GeneralBachelor's Degree$47,488$26,407
Criminal Justice and CorrectionsBachelor's Degree$45,560Not available
Biology, GeneralBachelor's DegreeNot available$26,750

Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.