Human Services at Lander University

A bachelor's in Human Services from Lander would likely cost around $28,000 in student debt based on what other programs at the school typically require, with first-year earnings estimated at $36,600—figures derived from national peer programs since Lander's graduate sample is too small for the Department of Education to report. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.76 looks manageable on paper, suggesting graduates could potentially pay off loans within a few years if they commit to aggressive repayment.

What complicates the picture is that South Carolina's Human Services programs show considerable variation, and the state median earnings ($33,400) actually run below the national figure. The two SC schools with reported data show graduates earning in the low $30,000s—meaningfully less than Lander's estimated outcome. If Lander's actual results align more with state patterns than national ones, that $28,000 debt becomes harder to justify, especially in a helping profession where salary growth is typically modest.

The fundamental challenge here is uncertainty. You're making a four-year investment based on estimates from dissimilar programs rather than Lander's actual track record. For a career field where earnings rarely surprise on the upside, that means assuming meaningful risk. If your student is committed to human services work specifically—not just vaguely interested—and Lander offers strong practicum connections or graduate school pathways that matter in this field, the debt level isn't disqualifying. But don't move forward assuming these estimates reflect what Lander graduates actually experience.