Associate's · Norfolk, Virginia

Is Social Sciences, General at Tidewater Community College worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ 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 8.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $36,953; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $44,398; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $8,987; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $25k (likely $25k – $35k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $5k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in VA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 8.6 years (likely 6.7–12.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$74k (likely −$108k – −$47k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $13k (likely −$58k – $89k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 32%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26