Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Bryant & Stratton College-Virginia Beach

Bryant & Stratton's nursing assistant program carries significantly higher debt than typical for this field—graduates leave owing $26,000 compared to a national median of $15,000 and state median of $16,000. In fact, this program ranks in just the 5th percentile nationally for debt, meaning 95% of similar programs burden students with less. The first-year salary of $45,000 is decent (60th percentile in Virginia), but it doesn't justify the premium debt load.

The concerning math: graduates face a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.58, meaning they owe more than half their annual salary right out of school. For a field where many students are Pell Grant recipients (62% here) seeking quick entry to healthcare careers, this creates meaningful financial strain. Several Virginia alternatives deliver similar or better outcomes with far less debt—ECPI and both Fortis locations place graduates earning $50,000+ while likely carrying lower debt burdens given typical program costs.

This program gets you to the same career destination as most LPN/nursing assistant certificates, but via a more expensive route. Unless Bryant & Stratton offers specific advantages like flexible scheduling or location convenience that matter significantly to your family, the debt burden makes this harder to justify than lower-cost community college alternatives or programs with stronger placement outcomes.