-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Mercer University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.0% → 0.0%).
Georgia · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Mercer University
Macon, Georgia. 4,620 undergraduate students. 137 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Mercer 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.
+24%
150%-time completion
150%-time completion at Mercer University rose 24% between 2006 and 2009 (50.9% → 63.2%).
+24%
Private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at Mercer University are 24% above the private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer median ($58.4k vs $47.1k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Georgia
Each tile compares this institution to the Georgia median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$58,354+16% · 6→10y
Georgia median $38,208$50,231
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry73.4%+22% · '97→'09
Georgia median 41.6%$17,655+186% · '97→'20
At program completion4,620+122% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS82.7%-1% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time66.5%-17% · '01→'24
latest cohort$40,890+148% · '00→'24
out-of-state $40,890SECTION 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 $17,655 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $58,354 (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.
+22%
Mercer University · completion · 150% rose
51.9% → 63.2%
+76%
Mercer University · completion · 100% rose
34.7% → 61.2%
+122%
Mercer University · undergrad enrollment rose
2,028 → 4,500
+148%
Mercer University · in-state tuition rose
$17,028 → $42,312
+148%
Mercer University · out-of-state tuition rose
$17,028 → $42,312
+186%
Mercer University · median debt rose
$8,471 → $24,199
-100%
Mercer University · cohort default rate fell
3.6% → 0.0%
+28%
Mercer University · pell share rose
27.7% → 35.4%
+21%
Mercer University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$48,400 → $58,354
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.
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs.$155,399Medicine.$154,173Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration.$137,803Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$121,923Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$117,641Educational Administration and Supervision.$116,850Computer Engineering.$114,008Business/Commerce, General.$99,841Accounting and Related Services.$98,559Curriculum and Instruction.$89,086Engineering, General.$88,497Law.$86,479Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.$85,628Educational Administration and Supervision.$85,455Accounting and Related Services.$82,981Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$79,324Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$69,469Business/Commerce, General.$67,314Biology, General.$67,149Public Health.$64,522Biology, General.$63,099Business Administration, Management and Operations.$61,743Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$59,597Marketing.$58,407
Showing top 24 of 35 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
35 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
EDUCATION · CIP 13
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$59,597Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$50,213Educational Administration and Supervision.$57,130Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$69,469Curriculum and Instruction.$89,086Educational Administration and Supervision.$116,850Educational Administration and Supervision.$85,455
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
THEOLOGY & RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS · CIP 39
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$79,324Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$121,923Public Health.$64,522Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$117,641Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$49,960Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration.$137,803Health/Medical Preparatory Programs.$155,399Medicine.$154,173Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.$85,628
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Mercer 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
$719,452
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 7
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $22,627
- HS-only baseline · GA
- $35,800
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 51
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 Georgia
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Mercer University graduates earn $X” — not “Mercer University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Mercer 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.