Bachelor's · Chestertown, Maryland

Is Biology, General at Washington 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 9.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $43,789; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $59,254; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $26,344; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $119k (likely $119k – $119k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $19k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MD; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 9.1 years (likely 6.8–13.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$139k (likely −$221k – −$58k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $110k (likely −$62k – $288k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 66%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26