Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Colorado Mountain College

Colorado Mountain College's nursing assistant and practical nursing associate degree estimates debt at around $18,000—meaningfully below the national median of $19,400 for similar programs. Paired with first-year earnings that peer programs suggest land around $52,000, that creates a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.35, well within manageable territory for healthcare training.

The challenge here is context. With only three programs statewide and no Colorado schools reporting actual outcomes publicly, it's difficult to assess how this program stacks up locally. The earnings estimate draws from a national pool of 26 programs, which may or may not reflect Colorado's specific healthcare market—mountain resort communities like Glenwood Springs can have distinct wage and cost-of-living dynamics compared to Front Range cities. The relatively low Pell grant rate (13%) suggests this may not be the most accessible pathway for lower-income students seeking healthcare credentials.

For parents evaluating this investment, the estimated numbers point to reasonable financial outcomes if they hold true: earning back roughly a third of your debt in year one is a solid foundation for a healthcare career. But with no reported data from this school or its Colorado peers, you're betting on national trends applying locally. Before committing, verify actual graduate outcomes directly with the school and check whether Colorado's LPN market can support these earnings projections in the western slope region where your child would likely work.