Bachelor's · Sault Ste Marie, Michigan

Is Biology, General at Lake Superior State University 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $34,057; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $49,877; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $19,900; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $41k (likely $41k – $58k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $13k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 6.5 years (likely 3.8–16.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$105k (likely −$202k – $22k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $69k (likely −$133k – $345k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 50%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26