This study examined college graduates' earnings and indebtedness one year after graduation. First, data from the first follow-up of the Baccalaureate & Beyond study (which followed a nationally representative sample of baccalaureate graduates from 1993) were used to describe the earnings distribution of full-time workers from various academic major areas. Second, a multi-level earnings model that incorporated demographic, family background, education, and labor market variables was developed; and, third, student indebtedness and student debt-to-earnings ratios were related to several individual-level and institutional-level variables (primarily from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 1993). Hierarchical linear modeling was used for data analysis. Results found three major influences on the initial earnings of college graduates and their debt ratios: (1) college major, with health-related and engineering majors earning the most and education and humanities majors the least; (2) college performance, as measured by grade point average, which had a positive impact on earnings and a negative impact on debt ratios; and (3) college quality, as measured by selectivity, which affected initial earnings but not debt ratios. (Contains 76 references and 7 tables.) (DB)