Bachelor's · Virginia Beach, Virginia

Is Public Policy Analysis at Regent University 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $47,506; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $65,281; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $23,121; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $77k (likely $77k – $96k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $27k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in VA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.1 years (likely 3.7–8.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$14k (likely −$129k – $101k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $320k (likely $67k – $592k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 52%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26