Bachelor's · Wheaton, Illinois

Is Communication and Media Studies at Wheaton 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $45,437; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $65,194; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $25,499; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $111k (likely $111k – $111k); 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: 6.8 years (likely 5.3–9.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$57k (likely −$145k – $30k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $270k (likely $78k – $476k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 82%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26