---
title: Virginia Military Institute — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Lexington, VA
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Virginia Military Institute

Lexington, VA · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $77,369 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $52,604 – $90,374 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $19,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $5,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 76% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $34,824 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 86% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.25× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $49,369 | derived |

**76% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $19,000 (≈ 25% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $38,487 to $47,030 across 11 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,030 | $25,750 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,367 | $26,000 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,215 | $19,971 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,118 | $22,150 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,671 | not reported |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,325 | $19,500 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,302 | $21,875 |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,105 | not reported |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,025 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,712 | $21,250 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,487 | $19,250 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Virginia Military Institute by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?234085

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/virginia-military-institute-va.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`