Bachelor's · University Park, Illinois

Is Accounting and Related Services at Governors State University 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 4.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $52,412; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $65,761; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $17,793; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $67k (likely $67k – $92k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $26k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in IL; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 4.5 years (likely 3.4–6.2); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $470 (likely −$93k – $94k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $329k (likely $141k – $547k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 23%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26