Alumni Earnings

This year’s Alumni survey yielded data in line with recent years regarding Alumni income and debt. Overall, just over half (53%) of Alumni respondents currently make more than their household income at the time of application. Not surprisingly, the rate is higher when we look at older Alumni (those who graduated from college more than five years ago) and lower for younger Alumni.
This disparity between older and younger Alumni incomes is to be expected given a normal career trajectory, with earnings increasing over time.
Career Field Shifts


Comparing older and younger Alumni careers to the career choices of graduating Scholars reveals continued momentum for STEM careers and healthcare. The most significant change is in the field of Education—a career path for nearly a quarter of older Alumni. It currently draws only about 14% of younger Alumni and graduating Scholars. Law and Government careers also draw fewer younger Alumni and graduates, while business, nonprofit and social services careers attract more. A majority of the graduating Scholar survey respondents in the fields of Business, Healthcare, and Government/Law have long-term post-graduation plans.
Scholar and Alumni Debt

Despite the wealth of evidence demonstrating that college graduates earn significantly more than their non-degree holding peers over a lifetime (roughly $1 million in additional lifetime earnings, on average)5, debt remains a significant challenge for recent college graduates. “A quarter of college graduates ages 25 to 39 with loans say they are either finding it difficult to get by financially or are just getting by, compared with 9% of those without loans. And while only 29% of young college graduates with outstanding student loans say they are living comfortably, 53% of those without loans say the same.”6
Given the prevalence of high levels of student debt for young graduates, it is significant both that Mitchell Scholars borrow less than members of the comparison group and that Scholars with lower household income borrow at lower rates. However, an important group of Scholars for us to track are those with low household income and high (over $20,000) debt: This group represents 24% of lower-income continuing survey respondents. These Scholars face the greatest degree of risk for long-term economic instability if they do not complete their degrees. As a recent report by the Federal Reserve observes, “Arguably the single-biggest determinant of the downside risk associated with attending college is the substantial likelihood of non-completion,” which lands students with the burdens of long-term debt without the financial benefits associated with a college degree.”7 Future reports will look more closely at this group to determine correlation, additional risk factors, and possible supports.
On the whole, the data emerging from this year’s survey around average debt, household income, and salary suggests that the Mitchell Scholarship contributes meaningfully to economic mobility for Scholars. Two-thirds of continuing Scholar respondents have substantially less loan debt than the national average ($29,400), and nearly 30% have no debt at all.8 Over half of our alumni respondents make more than their household income at the time of application, with the percentage rising to over 60% five years after graduation.