First professional · Manhattan, Kansas

Is Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ 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 5.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $108,115; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $128,876; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $177,815; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $189k (likely $189k – $189k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $63k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in KS; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.7 years (likely 4.9–6.7); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $27k (likely −$97k – $132k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $788k (likely $550k – $1.05M); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.