Bachelor's · Westminster, Maryland

Is Biology, General at McDaniel College worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 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 9.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $36,684; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $55,110; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $25,025; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $97k (likely $97k – $114k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $16k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MD; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 9.5 years (likely 6.1–19.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$152k (likely −$256k – −$39k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $54k (likely −$160k – $304k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 56%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26