Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Bryant & Stratton College-Virginia Beach

Bryant & Stratton's nursing graduates earn about $71,700 in their first year—roughly $4,000 below the Virginia median and $3,000 below the national benchmark for nursing programs. While this puts the program in the bottom half of Virginia's nursing schools (40th percentile), the real concern is the debt burden. At $40,664, graduates carry about $13,000 more debt than typical nursing students in Virginia, placing this program in the 95th percentile nationally for student debt—meaning 95% of nursing programs leave students with less debt.

The 0.57 debt-to-earnings ratio isn't unmanageable, especially given that nursing offers stable employment prospects. However, a typical Virginia nursing graduate at schools like Centra College or Shenandoah earns $9,000-$10,000 more annually while carrying significantly less debt. That gap compounds quickly: over a decade, you're looking at potentially $100,000 in lost earnings plus the extra interest on higher loans. With 62% of students receiving Pell grants, these families can least afford to pay a premium for below-average outcomes.

For Virginia residents, this presents a hard financial calculus. Your child will likely find nursing work, but they'll start their career with substantially more debt and lower earnings than peers at other Virginia programs. Unless there are compelling personal circumstances making this the only viable option, the data suggests looking at other Virginia nursing schools first.