Hobart William Smith Colleges Area Studies (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Area Studies
- Private nonprofit college
- Geneva, NY
- About 19 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Hobart William Smith Colleges area studies graduates earn about what area studies graduates earn nationally, $39,939 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,250 in federal loans, close to the national median of $20,925. Several New York programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all area studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York area studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $257 a month, or 7.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Rochester area are about 3% below the national average, so a $39,939 salary here buys what about $41,159 buys in a typical US city.
About Hobart William Smith Colleges
Area Studies ranks 6th of 12 bachelor's programs at Hobart William Smith Colleges by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($72,158), Economics ($61,946), and Communications ($50,750).
Other area studies bachelor's programs near Geneva
Common questions
The median graduate earns $39,939 one year after graduating. The median across area studies bachelor's programs in New York is $37,041.
The median federal loan balance is $24,250, which ranks 5th lowest of 6 area studies bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $257 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 61% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 61%. Compare the cost with other New York programs before deciding.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of New York comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the area studies program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024