Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Aims Community College

Looking at comparable practical nursing programs across Colorado, graduates typically earn around $40,000 in their first year—roughly $4,000 below the national median for these programs. That gap isn't trivial when you're making loan payments, though the $10,000 in debt here sits below both the state and national medians for this credential. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.25 suggests manageable repayment, assuming earnings follow the state pattern.

What complicates the picture is Colorado's wide range of outcomes for LPN programs. Other community colleges in the state report substantially higher earnings—Morgan Community College graduates earn $64,000, and even Otero College reaches $74,000 in first-year earnings. Without program-specific data from Aims, it's unclear whether their outcomes align with the state median or fall elsewhere in that spectrum. The difference matters: earning $40,000 versus $64,000 changes monthly take-home pay by about $1,500 after taxes.

The $10,000 debt load gives this program a safety margin if outcomes prove weaker than the state median, but you're essentially betting on an unknown when other Colorado programs have documented stronger performance. Before committing, directly ask Aims for their graduates' actual placement rates and starting salaries—specifics, not promises—and compare those answers against the documented outcomes at Morgan or Otero if those programs are geographically feasible.