Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College

Similar Allied Health programs in South Carolina typically produce first-year earnings around $40,000, and by year four graduates here reach about $51,000—a meaningful jump that suggests career progression. At an estimated $17,600 in debt, this program appears to offer a more manageable financial path than peer programs statewide (where median debt exceeds $27,000). The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.44 means debt sits at roughly five months of first-year income, which is reasonable for an associate degree in a healthcare field serving 43% Pell-eligible students.

The caveat: without school-specific data, it's difficult to know whether Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College's graduates achieve the earnings trajectory seen at top-performing SC programs like Greenville Tech ($44,000) or whether they track closer to lower-performing options. The four-year earnings figure of $51,000 suggests solid outcomes, but that's the only reported data point for this program. Medical assisting roles vary considerably by employer and specialty, so local healthcare infrastructure and the school's clinical partnerships likely matter more than statewide averages suggest.

For parents, the financial structure looks viable—lower debt than state peers with earnings that should allow comfortable repayment. But press the school on job placement specifics: which local healthcare systems hire their graduates, and what roles do they fill? Those concrete connections matter more than estimated benchmarks when you're investing in vocational training.