Pega6 students come out $100,000 ahead of college grads.
pega6 grads build net worth early
while college students borrow heavily . . .
(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: -$36k
$15,000 tuition + $3k laptop + $15k room & board* + student loan interest
College students: -$24k
Tuition + room & board, net of grants and scholarships** + student loan interest
(keep scrolling; you’re going to love it)
* Source: 2022-2023 academic year; pega6 synthesis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics (table 330.40).
** Source: 2021-2022 academic year stated in 2022-2023 dollars; 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: +$40k*
Pega6 students graduate and begin their careers, earning $75k-$85k per year**, and are able to begin building their net worth immediately.
College students: -$81k
University students spend three more years at college paying $24k-$29k per year.^
(keep scrolling; it gets even better)
* Assumes an annual savings rate of 15% of gross salary (net of any debt payments). Includes accumulation of student loan interest at 6.25%.
** Source: Base salary figures sourced are national base-pay averages from PayScale, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Salary.com, and The Birmingham Group's 2026 Construction Salary Guide and include annual pay increases of 7.5%.
^ Includes accumulation of principal and interest at 6.25%.
$100,000 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: $0 in debt
After one year paying for pega6 and then paying off all $40k of principal & interest over the next three years, our grads will have no deb by the time their college peer graduates.
College students: $104k in debt
Whereas the average college student will have borrowed/paid $100,000 over that same four-year time period.
(one last scroll; the best is yet to come)
The long-term net worth difference is staggering
If you extrapolate each student’s net worth 10 years after college and at retirement (age 60), the pega6 grad . . . well . . . just check it out for yourself.*
10 YEARS
Pega6 grad +$270,000
Ten years after the college student graduates, their net worth is $28,000, while a pega6 grad will have already built a net worth of nearly $300,000.
RETIREMENT
Pega6 grad +$4,400,000
By the time both students reach the age of 60, the pega6 grad will have a net worth over $4.0MM greater than the college graduate.
Note: All figures assume an annual savings rate of 15% of gross salary (net of any debt payments), annual rate of return of 10%, average annual salary raise of 7.5% (salary cap of $300k), and that each graduate earns the same salary at the same points their careers (e.g., at 5 years in the workforce, 10 years, 20 years, etc.).