Bachelor's · New York, New York
Is Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences at Columbia University in the City of New York worth it?
Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Graduates typically don't earn back the cost within 20 years, compared with the no-degree baseline.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $28,908
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- Not enough graduates to report
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- Not enough borrowers to report
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $65k (likely $65k – $70k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- −$8k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NY
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- Not within 20 years in most scenarios
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$315k (likely −$378k – −$245k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- −$397k (likely −$522k – −$254k)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 95%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Change income, residency or loans Compare Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences at other schools
🌱 Getting ready in high school
Students heading toward animals, plants & the planet majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.
AP classes
- AP Biology
- AP Environmental Science
- AP Chemistry
- AP Statistics
IB Higher Level
- Biology HL
- Environmental Systems and Societies
Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.
Other majors at Columbia University in the City of New York
- Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies (Graduate certificate)$312,330
- Law (First professional)$308,943
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$251,708
- Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Master's)$236,233
- Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Graduate certificate)$220,151
- Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$194,365
- Computer Science (Bachelor's)$188,265
- Dentistry (First professional)$182,326
- Computer Science (Master's)$180,031
- Statistics (Master's)$167,848
- Operations Research (Bachelor's)$167,572
- Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (Master's)$166,264
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences at other schools in New York
- State University of New York at Oswego$64,634
- SUNY Oneonta$64,410
- SUNY College at Potsdam$62,004
- State University of New York at Cortland$60,027
- University at Buffalo$59,841
- SUNY College at Geneseo$55,018
- Binghamton University$53,761