Is Brevard College Worth It?

Brevard College's financial return is weak. You pay $21,376 a year net and earn a median of $43,545 ten years out, a payoff that lags most private four-year schools. The 39% graduation rate is the bigger problem: most of you who enroll won't finish, and dropping out with debt and no degree is the worst outcome here. The 66% retention rate means a third of you are already gone after freshman year.

Among the listed bachelor's programs, none clears $40,000. Criminal Justice tops the list near $38,000, which matches North Carolina's steady demand for corrections and law enforcement work. Business Administration and Interdisciplinary Studies land in the low $30,000s while carrying the same $25,000-plus debt load. Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies is the clear loser at roughly $21,900, barely above a full-time minimum-wage job and not enough to service the typical debt here. If you enroll in that program, the numbers do not work.

The specific risk at Brevard is paying private-college prices for public-college earnings, then not finishing. With median debt at $25,000 and median earnings under $44,000, your monthly loan payments will eat a real share of your paycheck.

The net price tiers reward lower-income families: under $30k, you pay about $17,500, versus roughly $24,000 if your family earns over $75k. Even the discounted price outpaces the earnings for the weaker majors.

Brevard fits you if you're committed to criminal justice or business, likely to graduate, and drawn to its western North Carolina setting. Look elsewhere if you're undecided, price-sensitive at a higher income, or leaning toward the recreation track, where the return doesn't justify the cost.