Betting on the Baccalaureate : The Odds by Academic Discipline and Gender

People with a degree beyond high school earn significantly more than those with only a high school diploma. But does the benefit of a college degree in any major justify the expense, or are there some majors in which the average borrowing levels of student loans represent a debt burden that is not cost effective? This study assesses the average debt-to-income ratios of eleven different undergraduate majors, and based on average salaries in those fields, attempts to define a reasonable maximum aggregate student loan debt level by major. Factors considered include other consumer debt and predictive lifetime earnings by gender