Health and Medical Administrative Services at Andrews University

Nearly $40,000 in debt for a program that—based on comparable Michigan schools—typically produces first-year earnings around $41,400 creates an almost dollar-for-dollar debt-to-income ratio. That's a tighter squeeze than most healthcare administration programs in the state manage. The median debt for similar Michigan programs sits closer to $30,000, which would make this financial picture considerably less stressful. When your monthly loan payments equal roughly 10% of your gross income right out of the gate, there's not much room for error in budgeting or unexpected life expenses.

The earnings estimate itself tracks closely with Michigan's median for this field, but notice how the top programs in the state—Davenport, Ferris State, Central Michigan—report outcomes $3,000 to $11,000 higher than this baseline. Whether that gap reflects differences in curriculum, internship networks, or regional job placement isn't clear from the data, but it suggests that not all healthcare administration degrees produce equivalent career launches. The national median sits slightly higher at $44,345, which wouldn't dramatically change the calculation here but does indicate this program's peer group performs at the lower end of the range.

For families considering this path, the key question becomes whether Andrews' specific program advantages—perhaps its Seventh-day Adventist health system connections or smaller class sizes—justify taking on roughly 30% more debt than the state's typical graduate carries. With estimated outcomes rather than actual placement data to work from, that's a leap requiring some faith.