Undergraduate certificate · Saint Mary of the Woods, Indiana

Is Special Education and Teaching at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $44,367; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $45,688; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $14,337; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $24k (likely $24k – $29k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $7k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in IN; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5 years (likely 2.3–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$6k (likely −$73k – $73k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $55k (likely −$81k – $213k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 49%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26