Business Administration, Management and Operations at Miller-Motte College-Charleston

Miller-Motte College-Charleston graduates earn roughly $23,900 in their first year after completing this associate degree—about $7,300 below South Carolina's state median for business programs and $10,000 below the national benchmark. To put that in perspective, graduates from Greenville Technical College's similar program earn nearly double in their first year. Even among South Carolina's 19 business programs, Miller-Motte ranks in just the 25th percentile, meaning three-quarters of comparable in-state options deliver better outcomes.

The debt picture compounds these concerns. At $30,649, graduates carry more than twice the state median debt and over double the national median for this degree. That 1.28 debt-to-earnings ratio means students borrow more than they'll earn in their entire first year—a financially precarious starting point. While earnings do grow 11% to $26,516 by year four, that's still below what many graduates earn immediately after completing programs at South Carolina's technical colleges.

For families considering in-state options, the math is straightforward: South Carolina's technical college system offers business programs with significantly lower debt and substantially higher earnings. Unless there are compelling geographic or scheduling constraints, exploring alternatives like Greenville Tech, York Tech, or Tri-County Technical College would likely provide better return on investment. The combination of below-average earnings and above-average debt makes this particular program a risky financial proposition.