Accounting at Dewey University-Hato Rey

In Puerto Rico's accounting job market, where the typical associate degree holder earns around $26,000 in their first year, this program's estimated $37,000 appears optimistic—but that figure comes from national rather than local outcomes. The estimated $26,291 in debt (also derived from peer institutions) exceeds both the Puerto Rico state median of $16,500 and approaches what you'd expect from a bachelor's program. For an associate degree serving a 90% Pell-eligible student population, that's a substantial burden when local earning patterns typically run about $10,000 lower than the national benchmark suggests.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.71 looks manageable on paper, but only if graduates actually command those national-level salaries in Puerto Rico's economy. NUC University, the one comparable program with reported data, shows first-year earnings of $26,373—which would push the debt ratio above 1.0 and make repayment considerably more challenging. That gap between estimated and local reported outcomes is significant enough to warrant caution.

Given that both key figures here are estimates rather than this school's actual graduate outcomes, parents should request placement data directly from Dewey and compare starting salaries at local accounting firms. If graduates are landing jobs closer to the $26,000 PR benchmark, that debt load becomes harder to justify compared to less expensive alternatives in the territory.