Bachelor's · Canyon, Texas

Is Music at West Texas A & M 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 slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 7.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $43,313; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $52,262; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $19,863; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $76k (likely $76k – $103k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $16k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 7.3 years (likely 5.3–12.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$103k (likely −$193k – −$25k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $106k (likely −$63k – $279k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 50%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26