First professional · Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Is Medicine at Medical College of Wisconsin 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 9.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $71,357; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $115,917; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $234,504; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $249k (likely $249k – $249k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $51k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in WI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 9.2 years (likely 8.0–10.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$232k (likely −$336k – −$134k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $401k (likely $204k – $632k); Today's dollars

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