Master's · Spring Arbor, Michigan

Is Social Work at Spring Arbor University 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 7.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $61,408; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $74,588; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $28,800; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $31k (likely $31k – $31k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $10k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in MI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 7.3 years (likely 5.3–11.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$101k (likely −$163k – −$43k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $61k (likely −$89k – $216k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.