Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions at Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion

Indiana Wesleyan's mental health services program produces graduates earning slightly above both state and national medians—but there's a concerning debt problem. While $40,426 in first-year earnings ranks this program 60th percentile in Indiana, students are borrowing $44,811 to get there. That's 66% more debt than the national median for this field and puts graduates at a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.11—manageable but tight.

The financial picture gets shakier over time. Rather than the typical earnings growth that justifies education debt, graduates see their median income slip to $39,635 by year four. In a helping profession where salaries typically start modest but grow steadily, this stagnation is troubling. Combined with the high debt burden, it means graduates will be dedicating a substantial portion of their early-career income to loan payments while their peers catch up or surpass them financially.

For families considering this program, the key question is whether the school's specific network or training justifies borrowing nearly double what graduates at other schools typically take on. The earnings aren't poor—they're actually competitive—but at this debt level, your child would need to secure higher-paying positions within the field (perhaps supervision or specialized roles) fairly quickly to make the math work comfortably. If cost can be reduced through scholarships or if family resources can limit borrowing, the outcomes become more reasonable.