Pega6 students come out over $250,000 ahead of college grads.
(continue scrolling to see the breakdown)
Year one
For the first year after graduating high school, pega6 students and university students both invest in their post-secondary educations.
Pega6 students: -$31k
$15,000 tuition + $16,000 room & board*
College students: -$21k
Tuition + room & board, net of grants and scholarships**
* Source: 2021-2022 academic year; pega6 synthesis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics (table 330.40).
** Source: 2022-2023 academic year; tuition source is the National Center for Education Statistics (table 331.30), adjusted to also include tuition of students who don’t receive financial aid; financial aid sources are the National Center for Education Statistics (tables 331.20 and 331.30).
Divergent paths
For the next three years, pega6 grads begin their climb in life, while college students continue digging a hole.
Pega6 students: +$214k
Pega6 students graduate and begin their careers, earning around $90,000 per year ($70,000 after-tax).*^
College students: -$63k
University students spend three more years at college paying $21,000 per year.
* Source: average of the national averages from Glassdoor, Salary.com, BuiltIn, Indeed (as of 11.14.25) as well as pega6 estimates.
^ Assumes a 25% tax rate and a 7.5% annual raise starting after the first year of employment.
$250,000+ ahead
The low cost of pega6 combined with the high graduate earnings that start three years earlier than college grads lead to an incredibly attractive ROI relative to college and on an stand-alone basis.
Pega6 students: +$183k
After paying $31k and then earning $214k (after tax) over the next three years, pega6 students will have earned a net $183,000 during their first four years after high school.
College students: -$85k
Whereas college students will have paid (or borrowed) $85k over that same time period.