How much debt do McDaniel College English graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $22,250, which ranks 6th lowest of 9 English bachelor's programs in Maryland. That works out to about $236 a month over 10 years.

Is a English degree from McDaniel College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 62% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 77%.

McDaniel College English (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in English Language and Literature, General
Private nonprofit college
Westminster, MD
About 6 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

McDaniel College English graduates earn more than graduates of most English programs nationally, $35,793 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $22,250 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,498. Two other Maryland programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$35,79381st percentile of 471 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$51,94245% more than year one

Median federal debt$22,2506th lowest of 9 Maryland programs

Debt-to-earnings62%Maryland median 68%, national 77%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Maryland and national columns are the medians across all English bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	McDaniel College	Maryland	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$35,793	$35,283	$30,195
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$51,942	$50,536	$47,348
Median federal debt at graduation	$22,250	$23,156	$24,498
Debt as share of first-year pay	62%	68%	77%
Programs compared		9	471

Five years out, McDaniel College graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the Maryland median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Maryland English program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Maryland medians.

McDaniel CollegeOther Maryland programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 45% between the first and fifth year.

McDaniel College grads, year 1$35,793

McDaniel College grads, year 5$51,942

All Maryland English grads, year 5$50,536

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $236 a month, or 7.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Baltimore area are about 4% above the national average, so a $35,793 salary here buys what about $34,256 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to English, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$78,670

Median pay in Maryland. 16,640 people work in this job in Maryland. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $58,150Top 10%: $102,690

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

$53,920

Median pay in Maryland. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $42,900Top 10%: $65,530

About McDaniel College

Tuition and fees	$52,081 / year
Average net price after aid	$21,916 / year
Admission rate	78%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	63%
Undergraduate students	1,617

English ranks 5th of 7 bachelor's programs at McDaniel College by first-year earnings. The top three are Accounting ($65,941), Business Administration ($59,048), and Kinesiology and Exercise Science ($38,122).

Other English bachelor's programs near Westminster

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
McDaniel CollegeWestminster, MD · private nonprofit		$35,793	$22,250
Gettysburg CollegeGettysburg, PA · private nonprofit	21 mi	$40,601	$26,724
Towson UniversityTowson, MD · public	25 mi	$39,250	$21,500
Goucher CollegeBaltimore, MD · private nonprofit	25 mi	$32,545	$26,000
Loyola University MarylandBaltimore, MD · private nonprofit	26 mi	$30,949	$27,000
UMBCBaltimore, MD · public	27 mi	$27,547	$19,500
Messiah UniversityMechanicsburg, PA · private nonprofit	40 mi	$22,621	$26,000
University of MarylandCollege Park, MD · public	41 mi	$36,561	$21,500
Shippensburg University of PennsylvaniaShippensburg, PA · public	43 mi	$28,924	$27,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $35,793 one year after graduating and $51,942 five years after. The median across English bachelor's programs in Maryland is $35,283.

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 Maryland 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 English 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

English bachelor's programs in Maryland, ranked9 programs by pay and debt English bachelor's programs in the US, ranked471 programs by pay and debt All McDaniel College programs, ranked7 programs by pay and debt