Is Your College Major Worth the Debt? What Families Need to Know Before Choosing a College
A degree can lead to a great career. But the wrong combination of major, college cost, student debt, and career preparation can create a financial problem that follows a student for decades.
Parents often ask me, private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning
“What should my student major in?”
That’s an important question.
But it isn’t the question families should be asking by itself.
A better question is:
“What will it cost to earn this degree, and what is the student’s likely career and financial outcome after graduation?”
Two recent articles highlight why families need to think differently about choosing a college and major.
Investopedia examined college majors associated with some of the highest student-loan debt, private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning
Meanwhile, The Chronicle of Higher Education examined the employment outlook for arts and design graduates, and how artificial intelligence is changing creative careers.
Taken together, the articles reveal something important:
There Are Very Few “Good” or “Bad” Majors in Isolation
A student can choose a seemingly practical major and still make a poor financial decision.
A student can choose an arts or creative major and build a successful career.
The difference can come down to five things:
The college.
The cost.
The amount borrowed.
The student’s career preparation.
The student’s ability to adapt to a changing workforce.
That last factor is becoming especially important as artificial intelligence changes what employers need from college graduates.
Some College Majors Produce Surprisingly High Debt
Investopedia recently examined Education Data Initiative research on student borrowing by major, private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning
Nearly half of undergraduate students borrow money for college, and the median debt among borrowers earning bachelor’s degrees is approximately $25,084.
But several majors have substantially higher median debt.
Among those highlighted by Investopedia:
- Curriculum and Instruction , $46,820
- Behavioral Sciences , $44,554
- Engineering-Related Technologies , $41,308
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine , $40,522
- Other Theology and Religious Vocations , $38,722
Source: Investopedia, based on Education Data Initiative research.
At first glance, families might conclude:
Avoid majors with high student debt, we a private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning say.
But that misses the larger issue.
Debt Isn’t Necessarily the Problem. Debt Compared With Income Is.
Imagine two students graduate owing $40,000.
Student #1 earns $80,000 shortly after graduation.
Student #2 earns $42,000.
They have exactly the same student-loan balance.
They do not have the same financial situation.
That’s why families should look at a student’s potential:
Debt-to-Income Risk
A $25,000 loan attached to a career paying $70,000 can be very different from a $75,000 loan attached to a career paying $45,000.
This becomes even more important when the intended career requires graduate school.
The Bachelor’s Degree May Only Be the Beginning
Suppose a student says:
“I want to major in psychology.”
The family finds a great university and calculates the four-year undergraduate cost.
But that’s not enough, said private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning.
What does the student actually want to do with psychology?
If the intended profession eventually requires a master’s degree, doctorate or professional credential, then the family should be examining the cost of the entire educational pathway, not just the bachelor’s degree.
The same principle applies to students considering careers in medicine, counseling, psychology, law, architecture and numerous other professions.
A family considering an expensive undergraduate college needs to ask:
Will we also be paying for graduate or professional school?
If the answer is yes, undergraduate scholarships and cost containment can become extremely important.
Private College Admissions Counseling A Through Z College Planning
Now Consider the Arts
This is where the Chronicle article gets interesting.
For years, parents have heard versions of:
“Don’t major in art. You’ll never get a job.”
The available data tell a considerably more complicated story.
Research from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) found that 84% of surveyed arts and design alumni were employed, including full-time, part-time and self-employed workers, while 57% were employed full-time in the arts.
Other SNAAP research shows that within five years of graduation, 61% of alumni reported primarily working in an arts- or design-related field and 81% reported high career satisfaction, private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning
So an arts degree doesn’t automatically mean unemployment.
But there’s another side of the equation.
Income can vary enormously.
SNAAP found median income for arts and design graduates of approximately:
3 years after graduation: $45,000
7 years: $55,000
10 years: $65,000
That’s approximately 44% income growth between years three and ten.
However, outcomes varied considerably by discipline and occupation.
Architecture graduates reported some of the highest earnings, approaching approximately $90,000 around ten years after graduation.
Fine and studio arts occupations were considerably lower, starting around $23,000 and reaching slightly above $50,000 around year ten.
This illustrates why saying:
“My student wants to major in art.”
doesn’t provide enough information.
Animation, architecture, graphic design, theater, music, UX, film, illustration and studio art can produce very different career paths.
Then AI Entered the Picture
Artificial intelligence or Superior Intelligence or Enhanced Intelligence adds another layer to the college decision, private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning.
More than half,51.7%, of arts and design alumni responding to SNAAP’s AI survey reported already using generative AI professionally. Respondents most commonly described AI as supporting productivity, idea development and editing rather than simply replacing creative labor.
This could fundamentally change what it means to prepare for a creative career.
Imagine an employer who previously needed someone primarily to:
Create illustrations.
Produce basic graphics.
Generate initial concepts.
Edit images.
Create rough storyboards.
Produce variations.
AI can increasingly assist with many of those tasks.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the creative professional disappears says private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning.
It can mean the valuable part of the job moves higher up the decision-making chain.
Employers may increasingly need people who can answer:
What should we create?
Who are we creating it for?
Which idea is strongest?
How does it connect with the audience?
How should AI be used?
Where shouldn’t AI be used?
How do we turn the concept into something commercially valuable?
The future creative professional may therefore need more than artistic talent.
They may need:
Creativity + Technology + AI + Communication + Business + Strategy.
The Career May Not Look Like One Job Anymore
There is another development families should understand.
Creative careers can increasingly operate as what researchers call portfolio careers.
SNAAP’s 2026 research found that nearly half of surveyed arts and design alumni reported more than one job or paid activity. About 46% had one job, 35% had two, 10% had three, with smaller percentages reporting four or five.
And when asked about their ideal income structure, 46% preferred a combination of working for someone else and self-employment, private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning.
A future graphic designer might therefore be:
Corporate designer + freelance designer + content creator.
A musician might be:
Performer + instructor + producer.
An animator might become:
Animator + game designer + freelance illustrator.
That means entrepreneurship, marketing, networking and business skills can become part of career preparation.
So Should Students Avoid Arts Degrees?
No blanket conclusion like that is supported by these findings.
The better question is:
We private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning always want to ask What Will This Particular College Do to Prepare This Particular Student for a Career?
That’s where families need to investigate much more deeply.
Don’t simply ask:
“Does this college have a good animation program?”
Ask:
Where are the graduates working?
Which companies hire them?
What percentage complete internships?
Can we see graduating students’ portfolios?
What software will students learn?
How is AI incorporated into the curriculum?
Are students learning business and entrepreneurship?
Does the program connect students with employers?
What do graduates earn?
And one of the most important questions:
How Much Will This Degree Actually Cost Us?
The Same Degree Can Have Two Completely Different Financial Outcomes
Imagine two students who want the same career.
College A
Estimated net cost: $70,000/year
Four-year cost: $280,000
College B
Estimated net cost after merit scholarships: $32,000/year
Four-year cost: $128,000
Difference: $152,000
Now suppose graduates from both colleges pursue similar careers.
Suddenly the question isn’t simply:
“Which college is ranked higher?”
It’s: “Is College A producing an outcome worth an additional $152,000?”
That’s a very different conversation.
And Don’t Forget the Fifth Year
Families also need to investigate whether students actually graduate in four years.
An additional year doesn’t simply mean another year of tuition.
Suppose the fifth year costs:
$35,000
But the student could otherwise have started a career earning:
$55,000
The economic difference associated with that additional year could approach:
$90,000
That’s why four-year graduation planning should be part of the college financial discussion.
A Better Way to Evaluate a College
At A Through Z College Planning, we believe families should look beyond simply:
“Can my student get admitted?”
We say private college admissions counseling A Through Z College Planning a college decision should consider:
Admission Probability
Scholarship Potential
Estimated Net Cost
Four-Year Graduation Probability
Major and Career Fit
Expected Starting Income
Graduate-School Requirements
Potential Student Debt
Internship and Career Placement
AI and Technology Readiness
Career Resilience
Put those together and you get a much more important measurement:
Return on College Investment
Before Your Student Chooses a College, Ask This Question
Don’t simply ask:
“What’s the best college my student can get into?”
Ask:
“Which college gives my student the strongest combination of education, career preparation, scholarships, manageable debt and future opportunity?”
Those are not necessarily the same college.
A prestigious college with a $300,000 four-year price tag isn’t automatically a better decision than a college offering the student $100,000 in scholarships.
And an arts degree isn’t automatically a poor investment simply because it is an arts degree.
The outcome depends on the student, the program, the cost, the career pathway and how effectively the student prepares for the workforce that will exist four years from now, not the workforce that existed four years ago.
That is particularly important as AI transforms creative and professional careers.
The College Decision Is Bigger Than Admission
Getting admitted is only the beginning.
The goal should be to help students:
Choose the right career and major.
Find colleges that fit academically and financially.
Position themselves for scholarships.
Graduate in four years or less.
Build the skills employers actually want.
Enter the workforce prepared for what’s coming next.
And do it without taking on unnecessary debt.
That’s what smart college planning should accomplish.
Want Help Building the Right College Strategy?
If you have an 8th–11th grade student, now is the time to start. Private College Admissions Counseling A Through Z College Planning
Private College Admissions Counseling A Through Z College Planning helps families evaluate careers, majors, colleges, scholarships, college costs and admissions strategies, before expensive mistakes are made.
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Schedule a Free College Planning Consultation and start building a college strategy based not simply on getting admitted, but on where the student wants to be after graduation.
Sources
The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Forecast for Arts Grads: Partly Sunny, With Strong Gusts of AI
Investopedia, 10 College Majors That Leave Graduates With the Most Student Loan Debt
Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), research on arts and design graduate employment, earnings, portfolio careers and generative AI.