Associate's · Morgantown, West Virginia

Is Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at West Virginia 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $28,300; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $49,660; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $11,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $38k (likely $38k – $50k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $14k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in WV; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.7 years (likely 4.3–8.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$3k (likely −$54k – $57k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $183k (likely $65k – $327k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 66%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26