Is Georgia Southern University Worth It?

Georgia Southern gives you a solid financial return if you pick the right major. The median graduate earns enough to cover a debt load that stays well below annual earnings, and the net price sits in the middle of the pack for a public university. This is a school where your major choice, not the school name, decides whether the numbers work.

Engineering and computing pay off here. Mechanical engineering and construction engineering technology graduates clear the mid-$60,000s while carrying debt in the low-$20,000s, so your first-year salary roughly triples your total borrowing. Management information systems is the quiet winner: nearly the same pay as engineering but the lowest debt of any top program at $20,000. Electrical engineering and computer science round out a tight cluster where earnings comfortably outrun what you owe.

The risk is the gap between these programs and everything else. The five listed majors all beat the school-wide median earnings, which means plenty of other majors land below it. A 52% graduation rate is the bigger financial threat than debt. If you borrow, spend two years here, and leave without a degree, you carry the cost with none of the earnings. The 77% retention rate says roughly one in four freshmen don't return for year two.

The net price tiers reward lower-income families. If your family earns under $48,000, you pay around $13,000 to $14,000 a year, while families above $110,000 pay closer to $20,000. That spread makes Georgia Southern a strong value if you qualify for need-based aid and enroll in a technical or engineering field.

Come here for engineering, computing, or MIS and finish the degree, and the math works cleanly. If you're undecided or drawn to lower-paying majors, weigh the graduation odds before you borrow.