Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Hope College of Arts and Sciences

Hope College's nursing program shows concerning performance even within Florida's competitive nursing market. At $50,136 in first-year earnings, graduates earn about $14,500 less than the state median and roughly $18,000 below what graduates from nearby Broward College achieve. Ranking in just the 25th percentile among Florida nursing programs means three-quarters of comparable in-state options deliver stronger returns—and Florida already lags behind national nursing benchmarks.

The debt burden of $26,379 isn't dramatically high by nursing standards, but it becomes problematic when paired with below-average earnings. That 0.53 debt-to-earnings ratio means graduates carry debt equal to more than half their first-year salary, making this among the weaker financial profiles for an associate nursing degree in a state with 73 program options. The small sample size (under 30 graduates) does warrant caution, but the gap between this program and established Florida nursing schools like Valencia or Northwest Florida State is too wide to dismiss as statistical noise.

For a parent considering in-state tuition options, this program faces stiff competition from community colleges and specialized nursing schools that consistently deliver $20,000+ more in first-year earnings. Unless location or scheduling factors make Hope the only viable option, other Florida programs offer substantially better returns on your investment.