Computer Software and Media Applications at Beacon College

A $38,000 first-year salary—based on national trends for software and media programs—falls notably short of what similar bachelor's degrees produce in Florida, where the state median sits at $46,678. That $8,000 gap matters when you're carrying an estimated $25,603 in debt. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.67 appears manageable on paper, but context changes everything: Florida Polytechnic's software graduates start at over $61,000, making their higher debt loads easier to service despite costing more upfront.

Here's the practical concern: software and media applications is a field where specific skills and job placement matter enormously, and without actual graduate outcomes from Beacon College, you're betting on whether this particular program delivers the industry connections and technical depth that translate to competitive salaries. The national estimates suggest middling results—fine if you land on the higher end of the range, problematic if you don't. With only 26% of students receiving Pell grants, this isn't primarily serving low-income students who might have fewer options, yet the estimated outcomes don't command a premium.

If your child is specifically drawn to Beacon's model for learning differences or other support services that justify the investment beyond pure earnings, that's a different calculation. But purely on the estimated financial returns for a software degree in Florida's competitive market, you'd want concrete evidence of job placement success before committing.