Bachelor's · Peru, Nebraska

Is Psychology, General at Peru State 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 7.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $42,505; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $48,439; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $22,932; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $42k (likely $42k – $59k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $8k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NE; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 7.7 years (likely 4.8–15.2); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$142k (likely −$216k – −$72k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$20k (likely −$150k – $132k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 37%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26