Bachelor's · Cullowhee, North Carolina

Is Music at Western Carolina 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 slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 7.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $42,530; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $47,276; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $27,750; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $55k (likely $55k – $72k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $11k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 7.5 years (likely 5.1–12.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$117k (likely −$182k – −$55k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $21k (likely −$97k – $165k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 61%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26