Bachelor's · Durango, Colorado

Is Natural Resources Conservation and Research at Fort Lewis College worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 16.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $38,280; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $49,938; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $12,500; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $85k (likely $85k – $117k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $6k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CO; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 16.8 years (likely 9.8–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$256k (likely −$360k – −$178k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$155k (likely −$326k – $11k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 36%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26