Bachelor's · Teaneck, New Jersey

Is Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus 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 8.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $45,926; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $51,871; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $22,900; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $76k (likely $76k – $100k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $12k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NJ; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 8.9 years (likely 5.7–16.7); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$148k (likely −$236k – −$68k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $15k (likely −$155k – $196k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 53%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26