Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Blue Cliff College-Alexandria

Blue Cliff College-Alexandria graduates earn roughly $21,600 in their first year—about 40% less than the Louisiana median for allied health programs and $15,000 below the national average. While this ranks in just the 5th percentile nationally, it's 25th percentile within Louisiana, suggesting the state's allied health market generally pays less than elsewhere. Still, Louisiana community colleges like Bossier Parish and Delgado produce graduates earning double what Blue Cliff students make, raising questions about why this program underperforms its local competition so dramatically.

The $26,000 debt load exceeds first-year earnings, creating a 1.20 debt-to-income ratio that will strain any budget. With 81% of students receiving Pell grants, most families here can't easily absorb that burden. Earnings do grow 12% to $24,146 by year four, but that's still barely above poverty-level wages for full-time work. For context, Louisiana's minimum wage worker earning $7.25/hour would make about $15,000 annually—this degree adds only $9,000 to that baseline after four years.

If your child is set on allied health in Louisiana, the data strongly suggests looking at community college alternatives first. Programs at Bossier Parish or Delgado cost similar amounts but lead to earnings that would make the debt manageable. Blue Cliff's combination of below-average outcomes and above-average debt creates financial risk that's hard to justify when better options exist in-state.