Bachelor's · Bluefield, Virginia

Is Human Services, General at Bluefield 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 12.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $38,660; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $47,035; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $20,167; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $78k (likely $78k – $93k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $8k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in VA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 12.7 years (likely 8.2–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$189k (likely −$255k – −$124k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$76k (likely −$200k – $83k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 26%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26