Statistics: Grads Leave With Low Debt, Strong Earning Potential
From left to right: New graduates Jacob Craft (finance), Nujeen Zibar (biology) and Duy-Anh (Tommy) Tran (computer science) are among the majority of UT Dallas students who are not carrying any college debt.
At a time when many college students and parents are focused on post-graduation employment prospects, the balance of earning power and low student debt among UT Dallas graduates is gaining notice in national rankings that focus on the best college values in the country.
With nearly 4,000 graduates earning their degrees from UT Dallas this week, most recent University survey statistics indicate that 84 percent of them will secure immediate employment or continue their education in graduate or professional schools.
A review of the University’s top five majors by enrollment – computer science, accounting, biology, electrical engineering and finance – indicates UT Dallas bachelor’s degree holders in those fields will find starting salaries averaging from $32,549 for biology, to $58,967 for computer science, to $61,156 for electrical engineering. Those who go on to medical training or master’s degrees will see yet higher salaries when they enter the job market.
This immediate earning potential and a very low percentage of students who carry any debt at all, at 36 percent compared to a national average of 71 percent, have earned the attention of both The Princeton Review and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. Each publication has ranked UT Dallas among the best college values for the past two years.
Those graduating with degrees in the University’s five most popular majors, which draw about 30 percent of the students on campus, say the encouraging statistics match their experiences.
For finance senior Jacob Craft, a job offer came a few months before his graduation this week from the Naveen Jindal School of Management. What began as an internship at a private equity firm in January quickly turned into a full-time job, with the company accommodating his class schedule as he finished his degree.