Human Resources Management and Services at Eckerd College

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.56 represents a manageable burden, assuming the state-level estimates hold true for Eckerd graduates. Similar HR programs across Florida suggest first-year earnings around $53,000, which tracks closely with the national median and would put monthly loan payments around $345 on a standard repayment plan—roughly 8% of gross monthly income. That's within the range financial advisors typically consider sustainable, though it leaves little margin if your child's actual outcomes fall short.

The challenge here is uncertainty. With too few graduates to generate school-specific data, you're essentially betting that Eckerd's small HR program performs like the Florida median rather than falling toward the lower end seen at schools like Florida International University. The estimated $30,000 debt figure comes from national data for similar private colleges, which may or may not reflect Eckerd's actual financial aid packaging for this particular major. For a school with relatively high selectivity and a small Pell population, these estimates could swing either direction.

If your child is committed to HR and values Eckerd's liberal arts environment and Florida location, the projected numbers aren't alarming. But you're paying a premium for a program without a track record to validate the investment. Request direct placement data from the career services office—where recent HR graduates actually landed jobs and at what salaries—before committing.