Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences at Hendrix College

The numbers tell a mixed story, but here's the reality: paying $27,000 to earn $35,000 in your first year creates immediate financial pressure. Based on national patterns for health sciences bachelor's programs, Hendrix graduates would face a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.77—meaning they'd owe roughly 9 months of their first year's salary. While this falls within manageable territory by federal standards, it's still a substantial burden when you're launching a career, and it assumes steady employment from day one.

What complicates this picture is the program itself. Health sciences bachelor's degrees often serve as stepping stones to graduate programs—pre-PT, pre-OT, pre-PA routes—rather than career endpoints. If your child plans to continue their education, they'll accumulate additional debt before seeing meaningful earnings growth. If they intend to work immediately after graduation, peer programs in Arkansas suggest starting salaries around $33,000-$36,000, which means the debt load represents a significant chunk of early earnings. Hendrix's smaller class sizes and liberal arts environment come at a premium compared to larger state schools offering similar programs.

Before committing, understand exactly which career paths this degree opens directly versus which require further schooling. If graduate school is likely, that changes the math considerably—you're financing the first leg of a longer, more expensive educational journey.