How much debt do Smith College biology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $19,000, which ranks 4th lowest of 32 biology bachelor's programs in Massachusetts. That works out to about $201 a month over 10 years.

Is a biology degree from Smith College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 58% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Massachusetts programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

Smith College Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Biology, General
Private nonprofit college
Northampton, MA
About 45 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Smith College biology graduates earn about what biology graduates earn nationally, $32,747 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,000 in federal loans, less than at 87% of biology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying biology degrees in Massachusetts.

First-year earnings$32,74753rd percentile of 795 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$48,32948% more than year one

Median federal debt$19,0004th lowest of 32 Massachusetts programs

Debt-to-earnings58%Massachusetts median 60%, national 75%

How it compares

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

	Smith College	Massachusetts	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$32,747	$41,879	$32,212
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$48,329	$67,969	$60,596
Median federal debt at graduation	$19,000	$27,000	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	58%	60%	75%
Programs compared		32	795

Five years out, Smith College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $19,640 less than the Massachusetts median. Several Massachusetts programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.

Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts biology program

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

Smith CollegeOther Massachusetts 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 48% between the first and fifth year.

Smith College grads, year 1$32,747

Smith College grads, year 5$48,329

All Massachusetts biology grads, year 5$67,969

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

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$36,463Median debt $19,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$27,858Median debt $19,000

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $201 a month, or 7.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (51 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20–39%
Paying down the balance	40–59%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20% or less
In default	20% or less

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 Amherst Town area are about the same as the national average.

Careers this field leads to

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

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$95,260

Median pay in Massachusetts. 28,460 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $61,500Top 10%: $122,660

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$128,210

Median pay in Massachusetts. 17,100 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $77,790Top 10%: $208,490

Natural Sciences Managers

$267,290

Median pay in Massachusetts. 10,590 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $153,490Top 10%: $329,820

Biological Technicians

$62,070

Median pay in Massachusetts. 8,430 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $49,880Top 10%: $94,760

About Smith College

Tuition and fees	$65,178 / year
Average net price after aid	$27,579 / year
Admission rate	21%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	89%
Undergraduate students	2,544

Biology ranks 11th of 17 bachelor's programs at Smith College by first-year earnings. The top three are Economics ($71,559), Statistics ($69,250), and Computer Science ($66,981).

Other biology bachelor's programs near Northampton

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA · private nonprofit		$32,747	$19,000
Mount Holyoke CollegeSouth Hadley, MA · private nonprofit	5 mi	$39,270	$22,260
UMass AmherstAmherst, MA · public	7 mi	$40,427	$27,000
Westfield StateWestfield, MA · public	15 mi	$42,776	$27,000
Bay Path UniversityLongmeadow, MA · private nonprofit	18 mi	$40,964	$27,000
University of HartfordWest Hartford, CT · private nonprofit	36 mi	$29,763	$27,000
Trinity CollegeHartford, CT · private nonprofit	40 mi	$52,179	$26,190
Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · private nonprofit	40 mi	$41,213	$13,454
UConnStorrs, CT · public	40 mi	$33,189	$25,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $32,747 one year after graduating and $48,329 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Massachusetts is $41,879.

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 Massachusetts 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 biology 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

Biology bachelor's programs in Massachusetts, ranked32 programs by pay and debt Biology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked795 programs by pay and debt All Smith College programs, ranked17 programs by pay and debt