Bachelor's · Swannanoa, North Carolina

Is Natural Resources Conservation and Research at Warren Wilson 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 12.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $28,631; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $47,039; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $21,103; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $99k (likely $99k – $127k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $11k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 12.9 years (likely 8.6–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$194k (likely −$271k – −$114k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$45k (likely −$202k – $136k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 40%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26