The Worst Colleges for Bachelor’s Degree Payoff, Ranked

This Dallas entry was tied to the Art Institutes system, a network of career-focused schools offering programs in design, media, fashion, culinary arts, and other applied creative fields. The name reflects the complicated structure of the system, with campuses and branches connected across different cities.

A 10-year payoff of -$26,000 points to a negative early return for students in the dataset. Creative programs can be expensive, and for-profit school outcomes often depend heavily on completion, job placement, debt, and local industry access. Since the Art Institutes later closed, this reads as historical context.