Health and Medical Administrative Services at Gateway Technical College

Gateway Technical College graduates this program with manageable debt—$15,500 compared to the state median of $22,650—but first-year earnings of $32,728 trail most Wisconsin competitors. While this beats the national median slightly, it lands in the 40th percentile statewide, with top Wisconsin programs like Western Technical College ($41,510) and Fox Valley Technical College ($38,881) offering nearly $6,000-10,000 more in starting salary. That earnings gap matters when you're building a career in medical administration.

The debt picture offers a silver lining: at 47 cents owed for every dollar earned in year one, graduates can realistically pay down their loans. However, the small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could swing significantly year to year, making this program harder to evaluate with confidence than larger ones.

For a Wisconsin family, this creates a genuine dilemma. Gateway costs less to attend than most alternatives, but several other technical colleges in the state deliver both lower debt and higher earnings. If Gateway is your local option and minimizes housing costs, the lower debt load makes it workable. But if you're willing to relocate within Wisconsin for school, programs at Western, Fox Valley, or Moraine Park offer demonstrably stronger financial outcomes for medical administrative careers.