On College Decision Day, New Data Highlight a Critical Next Choice: What to Study

College Board

• May 1, 2026

As millions of high school seniors mark College Decision Day on May 1, committing to where they'll enroll this fall, new data from the College Board's Education Pays 2026 report point to a critical next step: choosing a path that leads to a strong career.

The data from the report are clear: college still pays. But what students study, where they enroll, and whether they finish can significantly influence career opportunities and financial outcomes.

"A college degree remains one of the most reliable paths to economic opportunity," said Jessica Howell, vice president of research at the College Board. "But for students celebrating May 1, the most important decisions are still ahead. Major, completion, and fit all shape whether that degree translates into long-term success."

Education Pays, part of the College Board Trends in Higher Education series, examines the economic, employment, and societal benefits of education beyond high school. This year's findings reaffirm the value of a degree while highlighting widening differences in outcomes depending on student choices.

What the data show:

• College graduates earn about 60% more than high school graduates-a gap that has held steady for decades.
• By mid-career, 40% of bachelor's degree holders earn more than $100,000 annually compared with 13% of high school graduates.
• Young college graduates face lower unemployment than high school graduates (3.1% vs. 5.8%).
• The typical four-year college graduate recoups the cost of their degree by their mid-30s-often sooner with financial aid.

But not all degrees deliver the same return:

• Major matters: Early-career earnings range from about $44,000 for performing arts graduates to more than $80,000 for engineering and computer science majors.
• Completion matters: Students who finish their degrees see the strongest economic payoff.
• College choice matters: Institutions with higher graduation rates are linked to stronger outcomes.

"These differences are exactly what students should be thinking about right now," said Matea Pender, senior research scientist at the College Board and lead author of the report. "Committing to a college is a milestone-but understanding how your field of study and degree pathway connect to career development is what turns that milestone into long-term opportunity."

Beyond earnings, the report shows college graduates are more likely to have jobs with health insurance and retirement benefits, experience lower poverty rates, and report better health and higher civic engagement.

The full Education Pays 2026 report is available at https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/education-pays