CollegeCostWise

Bachelor's · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Is Computer and Information Sciences, General at Carnegie Mellon 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 fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating
$147,320
Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating
$201,330
Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation
$19,870
NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families
$152k (likely $152k – $183k)
AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4
$160k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in PA
2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback
1.8 years (likely 1.5–2.1)
Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return
$1.19M (likely $986k – $1.48M)
Today's dollars
20-year net return
$3.04M (likely $2.55M – $3.70M)
Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide)
94%
Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26

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