Bachelor's · Mississippi State, Mississippi

Is Animal Sciences at Mississippi State University 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $38,389; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $56,665; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $23,531; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $80k (likely $80k – $105k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $24k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MS; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.9 years (likely 4.7–7.7); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$26k (likely −$102k – $45k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $266k (likely $117k – $428k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 69%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26