Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Copiah-Lincoln Community College

For nursing in Mississippi, the numbers look solid even when we're working with estimates. Similar ADN programs across the state suggest first-year earnings around $67,000 against roughly $16,700 in debt—a manageable 3:1 ratio that puts you ahead of the national median debt of $20,751. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.25 means your child could theoretically clear their student loans with less than four months of gross pay, which is strong for an associate degree.

The wrinkle here is that Co-Lin's actual outcomes aren't reported due to small graduate numbers, while several nearby community colleges—Mississippi Delta, Southwest, and Northwest—are producing first-year earnings in the $70,000-$74,000 range. That $7,000-$8,000 gap matters when you're paying down debt and building savings. Whether Co-Lin matches those stronger performers or falls closer to the state average remains unclear without their specific data.

If your child is set on this school for location or family reasons, the financial fundamentals of an ADN in Mississippi work in their favor—nursing associate degrees reliably lead to jobs, and the state's debt levels are reasonable. But if flexibility exists, those programs with documented outcomes above $70,000 deserve a hard look, especially since community college costs should be similar across the state.