Student Success

“The education I received was exactly what I needed to prepare for medical school. My professors invested in me, helping me achieve my goals.” – Emma Felzien, Corban University

College graduates earn
$1+ million more

than high school graduates over their careers

A college degree is proven to be the smartest investment in your future.

Workers aged 25 and older with college degrees earn twice as much as those with a high school diploma, according to the U.S. Census, and workers with advanced degrees (masters and higher) make up to three times as much. This variance in income level has been found even when comparing earnings within the same occupation.

When looking at long-term payoffs college graduates, over the course of their careers, earn $1+ million more than high school graduates, and unemployment for college graduates is significantly lower than for non-grads in both economic good times and bad.

It doesn’t take a lifetime to realize the payoffs from attaining a degree. The median four-year college graduate who enrolls at age 18 and graduates in four years can expect to earn enough relative to the median high school graduate by age 34 to compensate for being out of the labor force for four years and for paying the full tuition and fees and books and supplies without any grant aid.

Source: The Hamilton Project

1 in 5 undergraduates in Oregon is enrolled in a four-year private college and university with a significant percentage of graduates pursuing healthcare, teaching, and business and marketing professions.

1 in 5 undergraduates earns a STEM bachelor’s degree.

Oregon’s private colleges and universities confer significant percentages of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) degrees as well.

32.3% of Oregon’s
Education

bachelor’s degrees

34.6% of Oregon’s
Health Profession

bachelor’s degrees

29.9% of Oregon’s
Math & Statistics

bachelor’s degrees

30.3% of Oregon’s
Biological & Biomedical Sciences

bachelor’s degrees

14.2% of Oregon’s
Business & Marketing

bachelor’s degrees

29.4% of Oregon’s
Physical Sciences

bachelor’s degrees

The fastest-growing occupational fields – STEM professions, including health professions – demand higher levels of postsecondary education.

31% of Oregon’s masters and doctoral degrees are from private colleges and universities.

CEOs with liberal arts degrees:

Richard Anderson

Political science major

Christopher Connor

Sociology major

Robert Iger

Communications major

Susan Wojcicki

History and literature major

Ken Chenault

History major

Leslie Moonves

Spanish major