-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Appalachian State University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.3% → 0.0%).
North Carolina · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Appalachian State University
Boone, North Carolina. 19,304 undergraduate students. 147 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Appalachian State University
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. North Carolina
Each tile compares this institution to the North Carolina median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$51,836+19% · 6→10y
North Carolina median $36,030$43,663
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry73.1%+20% · '97→'24
North Carolina median 46.1%$15,750+158% · '97→'20
At program completion19,304+80% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS85.3%-0% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time88.6%+38% · '01→'24
latest cohort$7,541+281% · '00→'24
out-of-state $24,537SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
4.0%Median federal debt $15,750 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $51,836 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+20%
Appalachian State University · completion · 150% rose
61.9% → 74.5%
+100%
Appalachian State University · completion · 100% rose
29.3% → 58.7%
+80%
Appalachian State University · undergrad enrollment rose
10,823 → 19,444
+281%
Appalachian State University · in-state tuition rose
$1,988 → $7,579
+170%
Appalachian State University · out-of-state tuition rose
$9,327 → $25,212
+158%
Appalachian State University · median debt rose
$7,845 → $20,231
-100%
Appalachian State University · cohort default rate fell
3.0% → 0.0%
+26%
Appalachian State University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$41,300 → $51,836
+29%
Appalachian State University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$37,500 → $48,423
+30%
Appalachian State University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$33,700 → $43,663
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Computer Science.$102,688Accounting and Related Services.$88,331Finance and Financial Management Services.$88,101Educational Administration and Supervision.$82,079Management Information Systems and Services.$81,612Insurance.$80,272International Business.$79,580Business Administration, Management and Operations.$78,484Accounting and Related Services.$78,158Construction Management.$76,819Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$76,064Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology.$70,123Energy Systems Technologies/Technicians.$67,517Biology, General.$67,233Geography and Cartography.$67,126Economics.$66,181Public Administration.$65,999Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services.$63,275Physics.$61,858Chemistry.$61,601Mathematics.$61,271Business Administration, Management and Operations.$60,338Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$60,184Educational/Instructional Media Design.$60,066
Showing top 24 of 65 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
65 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$46,027Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$46,827Educational Administration and Supervision.$59,944Student Counseling and Personnel Services.$51,811Special Education and Teaching.$49,424Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$47,693Educational/Instructional Media Design.$60,066Educational Administration and Supervision.$82,079
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBRARY SCIENCE · CIP 25
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$76,064Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$58,480Public Health.$48,531Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services.$50,317Health and Medical Administrative Services.$59,228Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$60,184Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services.$63,275Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$43,048
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
Business Administration, Management and Operations.$60,338Marketing.$59,640Construction Management.$76,819Finance and Financial Management Services.$88,101Management Information Systems and Services.$81,612Accounting and Related Services.$78,158Insurance.$80,272Business Administration, Management and Operations.$78,484Accounting and Related Services.$88,331Hospitality Administration/Management.$57,957International Business.$79,580
HISTORY · CIP 54
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Appalachian State University
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$41,537
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 27
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $15,766
- HS-only baseline · NC
- $35,600
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 42
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in North Carolina
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Appalachian State University graduates earn $X” — not “Appalachian State University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Appalachian State University caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.