Associate's · Saint Cloud, Minnesota

Is Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Saint Cloud 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 3.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $48,492; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $60,331; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $12,042; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $34k (likely $34k – $47k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $19k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MN; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3.8 years (likely 3.0–5.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $45k (likely −$12k – $100k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $292k (likely $159k – $423k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 44%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26