Bachelor's · Newark, New Jersey

Is Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at Rutgers University-Newark 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 4.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $46,115; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $71,449; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $17,500; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $68k (likely $68k – $91k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $32k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NJ; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 4.2 years (likely 3.5–5.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $36k (likely −$67k – $119k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $422k (likely $241k – $618k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 65%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in: not reported / ≤ 20%; NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20

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🌍 Getting ready in high school

Students heading toward languages & cultures majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.

AP classes

AP Spanish Language and Culture (or French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Latin)
AP World History: Modern
AP Human Geography

IB Higher Level

Language B HL
History HL or Geography HL

Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.