Bachelor's · Waverly, Iowa

Is Communication and Media Studies at Wartburg 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 10.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $48,666; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $52,023; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $25,852; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $99k (likely $99k – $132k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $13k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in IA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 10.9 years (likely 6.5–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$176k (likely −$278k – −$82k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$41k (likely −$209k – $161k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 68%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26