Best Value / By Major

Best Value Colleges for Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations

Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.

43

Schools Ranked

$37,065

Avg. Earnings

4.2 yrs

Best Payback

3,988

Graduates

How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.

#	School	Net Price/yr	Major Earnings	Payback
1	Northwood University Midland, MI · Private	$19,573	$53,775	4.2 yrs
2	Fashion Institute of Technology New York, NY · Public	$12,228	$45,889	4.5 yrs
3	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA · Private	$26,825	$55,371	5.3 yrs
4	Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI · Public	$13,230	$42,682	6.9 yrs
5	University of Georgia Athens, GA · Public	$15,037	$42,123	8.4 yrs
6	Marist University Poughkeepsie, NY · Private	$30,498	$49,344	8.5 yrs
7	Texas Woman's University Denton, TX · Public	$10,508	$38,829	11 yrs
8	Baylor University Waco, TX · Private	$31,907	$46,478	11.1 yrs
9	Dominican University River Forest, IL · Private	$18,838	$41,565	11.5 yrs
10	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	$14,132	$39,261	13.3 yrs
11	LIM College New York, NY · For-Profit	$35,905	$45,215	14.1 yrs
12	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX · Private	$33,018	$43,426	15.7 yrs
13	Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, PA · Private	$23,635	$40,017	18.8 yrs
14	Marymount University Arlington, VA · Private	$22,571	$39,009	22.5 yrs
15	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	$12,996	$37,208	23.5 yrs
16	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX · Public	$15,248	$37,568	23.8 yrs
17	Fisher College Boston, MA · Private	$24,055	$38,289	29.3 yrs
18	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH · Public	$19,508	$37,526	30.9 yrs
19	Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Indiana, PA · Public	$22,726	$37,054	44.3 yrs
20	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH · Public	$18,606	$36,533	48.5 yrs
21	Woodbury University Burbank, CA · Private	$29,603	$37,208	53.6 yrs
22	Lasell University Newton, MA · Private	$25,689	$36,560	65.9 yrs
23	Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte Charlotte, NC · Private	$26,572	$35,849	125.2 yrs
24	Johnson & Wales University-Providence Providence, RI · Private	$28,090	$35,849	132.3 yrs
25	Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH · Public	$13,754	$35,416	132.3 yrs
26	University of Bridgeport Bridgeport, CT · Private	$25,156	$35,420	239.6 yrs
27	Mercyhurst University Erie, PA · Private	$24,488	$33,993	N/A
28	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI · Public	$15,720	$32,925	N/A
29	Immaculata University Immaculata, PA · Private	$27,369	$29,685	N/A
30	Mount Mary University Milwaukee, WI · Private	$21,167	$33,993	N/A
31	Stevenson University Owings Mills, MD · Private	$16,778	$34,526	N/A
32	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH · Private	$41,757	$31,852	N/A
33	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI · Public	$14,547	$29,685	N/A
34	Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX · Public	$14,927	$31,305	N/A
35	University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, MO · Public	$14,267	$33,993	N/A
36	Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX · Public	$13,192	$33,993	N/A
37	University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK · Public	$18,802	$33,993	N/A
38	Concord University Athens, WV · Public	$8,322	$27,126	N/A
39	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA · Public	$19,623	$30,305	N/A
40	Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY · Public	$14,287	$29,250	N/A
41	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi Delhi, NY · Public	$17,583	$28,443	N/A
42	Stephens College Columbia, MO · Private	$22,673	$27,947	N/A
43	Meredith College Raleigh, NC · Private	$21,440	$35,060	N/A

Top Earners in Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations

See schools ranked by earnings alone, without considering cost.

Best Value Rankings

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Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.