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Lowest ROI Majors
Bottom 50 college majors by ROI percentile (net of opportunity cost)
| # | College | Major | Earnings | ROI | Employ | Degrees | Accept | SAT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bennington | Visual Arts | $21,365 | 1 | 88% | 17 | 45% | 1350 |
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| 2 | U. of Southern California | Jazz/Jazz Studies | $21,859 | 1 | 86% | 13 | 11% | 1510 |
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| 3 | U. of Southern California | Choral Music | $21,859 | 1 | 86% | 24 | 11% | 1510 |
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| 4 | Lewis & Clark | Studio Art | $20,013 | 1 | 91% | 21 | 79% | — |
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| 5 | Lewis & Clark | Art History | $20,013 | 1 | 91% | 17 | 79% | — |
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| 6 | Oberlin | $23,575 | 1 | 100% | 14 | 34% | 1430 |
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| 7 | Washington University in St Louis | $24,984 | 1 | 100% | 17 | 12% | 1530 |
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| 8 | U. of California, Irvine | Human Biology | $15,599 | 1 | 90% | 126 | 29% | — |
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| 9 | Bennington | Theatre | $23,819 | 1 | 94% | 18 | 45% | 1350 |
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| 10 | Arcadia | Theatre | $18,045 | 1 | 100% | 11 | 68% | — |
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| 11 | Berklee College of Music | Dance | $17,904 | 1 | 95% | 63 | 55% | — |
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| 12 | Carnegie Mellon | Drama | $26,052 | 1 | 100% | 50 | 11% | 1530 |
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| 13 | Furman | $24,433 | 1 | 100% | 18 | 43% | 1350 |
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| 14 | Pepperdine | Biology | $25,987 | 1 | 96% | 65 | 69% | 1330 |
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| 15 | Bennington | Music | $26,511 | 1 | 100% | 13 | 45% | 1350 |
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| 16 | The New School | Jazz Studies | $21,999 | 1 | 86% | 57 | 63% | — |
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| 17 | The New School | Music Performance | $21,999 | 1 | 85% | 21 | 63% | — |
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| 18 | The New School | Music History | $21,999 | 1 | 86% | 13 | 63% | — |
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| 19 | U. of Southern California | Musical Theatre | $27,055 | 1 | 91% | 76 | 11% | 1510 |
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| 20 | U. of Southern California | Acting | $27,055 | 1 | 91% | 41 | 11% | 1510 |
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| 21 | U. of Southern California | Playwriting and Screenwriting | $27,055 | 1 | 91% | 25 | 11% | 1510 |
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| 22 | Bennington | $27,134 | 1 | 96% | 21 | 45% | 1350 |
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| 23 | Pacific Northwest College of Art | Digital Arts | $19,152 | 1 | 84% | 20 | 75% | — |
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| 24 | Grinnell | $29,681 | 1 | 97% | 21 | 14% | 1480 |
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| 25 | The New School | Theatre | $22,663 | 1 | 94% | 36 | 63% | — |
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| 26 | The New School | Musical Theatre | $22,663 | 1 | 94% | 31 | 63% | — |
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| 27 | Clemson | Fine/Studio Arts | $18,478 | 1 | 90% | 11 | 42% | 1330 |
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| 28 | Clemson | Fine Arts | $18,478 | 1 | 90% | 10 | 42% | 1330 |
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| 29 | Johns Hopkins | Human Biology | $27,702 | 1 | 90% | 22 | 6% | 1550 |
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| 30 | Lawrence | Art | $25,220 | 1 | 86% | 13 | 75% | 1310 |
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| 31 | Susquehanna | $25,653 | 1 | 100% | 11 | 77% | 1200 |
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| 32 | Johns Hopkins | Music Performance | $28,061 | 1 | 92% | 60 | 6% | 1550 |
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| 33 | Johns Hopkins | Music for New Media | $28,061 | 1 | 92% | 17 | 6% | 1550 |
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| 34 | U. of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Theatre and Drama | $28,776 | 1 | 94% | 30 | 16% | 1460 |
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| 35 | U. of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Musical Theatre | $28,776 | 1 | 94% | 21 | 16% | 1460 |
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| 36 | Bennington | $28,694 | 1 | — | 11 | 45% | 1350 |
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| 37 | Yale | Art | $29,915 | 1 | 94% | 18 | 3% | 1520 |
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| 38 | Yale | History of Art | $29,915 | 1 | 94% | 16 | 3% | 1520 |
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| 39 | U. of California, Berkeley | Music | $17,970 | 1 | 73% | 46 | 11% | — |
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| 40 | Carleton | $29,727 | 1 | 95% | 15 | 22% | 1500 |
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| 41 | Bennington | Dance | $29,428 | 1 | — | 22 | 45% | 1350 |
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| 42 | Reed | $29,297 | 1 | 88% | 43 | 29% | 1410 |
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| 43 | The Juilliard School | Strings | $24,757 | 1 | 83% | 40 | 9% | — |
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| 44 | The Juilliard School | Voice | $24,757 | 1 | 83% | 13 | 9% | — |
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| 45 | The Juilliard School | Keyboard | $24,757 | 1 | 83% | 12 | 9% | — |
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| 46 | Lewis & Clark | Theater | $28,062 | 1 | — | 14 | 79% | — |
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| 47 | Indiana | Dance | $21,767 | 1 | 94% | 15 | 76% | 1290 |
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| 48 | San Francisco Conservatory of Music | Strings | $23,902 | 1 | 81% | 13 | 55% | — |
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| 49 | San Francisco Conservatory of Music | Technology and Applied Composition | $23,902 | 1 | 81% | 11 | 55% | — |
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| 50 | California Institute of the Arts | Art | $25,092 | 1 | 87% | 20 | 32% | — |
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