What Would I Earn with a College Degree?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average full-time employee with a bachelor's degree earned approximately $53,300 a year, sixty-one percent more than an employee with a high school diploma or GED, with comparative yearly earnings of $32,552. Employees with a bachelor's degree also had a lower unemployment rate than individuals with a high school diploma (5.2 percent to 9.7 percent).

Educational Level	Median Weekly Earnings
Doctoral degree	$1,550
Professional degree	$1,610
Master's degree	$1,272
Bachelor's degree	$1,550
Associate degree	$767
Some college, no degree	$712
High-school graduate	$626
Less than a high school diploma	$444
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Education Pays 2010

How Much Will it Cost to Go Back to School?

The College Board reported average college costs for 2011-12 as follows:

Here's the good news: the majority of students receive some type of financial aid. In 2010-11, the average amount of aid given a full-time undergraduate was $12,455 (including over $6,500 in grants or gift aid.) For more information, see The College Board's Trends in College Pricing 2011 and Trends in Student Aid 2011.

To get an idea of how much it will cost to attain your degree, choose three of the schools you are most interested in and input the required data below. To find each individual college profile, use the free College Search provided by the College Board.

How Long Will it Take to Complete My Degree?
That depends on your academic goals. A certificate program for a specialized field or career (non-college credit or credit) generally takes one year. Examples of certificate programs are in the culinary arts, computer technology, childhood education, emergency medical technicians, office administration, pharmacy technician, real estate, teacher's aide, tourism, travel. (See Online Courses and Certificate Programs and Certificate Programs: College's Best Kept Secret for some examples.

An associate’s degree requires 60 credits and takes two years for full-time students to complete. A bachelor’s degree (120 credits) generally takes four years, but can be accelerated through several academic options.

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