Associate's · Appleton, Wisconsin

Is Design and Applied Arts at Fox Valley Technical College 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 slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 13.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $36,636; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $43,538; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $8,186; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $33k (likely $33k – $42k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $3k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in WI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 13.2 years (likely 6.0–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$105k (likely −$168k – −$34k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$42k (likely −$177k – $116k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 58%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26