Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Panola College

Panola College's nursing program appears to follow an unusual trajectory that warrants scrutiny. While comparable programs nationally suggest first-year earnings around $66,000, the actual reported figure four years out drops to $60,910—a reversal of the typical upward earnings pattern for nurses. This could reflect regional market realities in East Texas, where healthcare wages may lag behind national averages, or it might indicate graduates are working part-time or leaving the field entirely.

The estimated debt load of $19,250 stays well below both national and Texas medians, which is reassuring given the murky earnings picture. That 0.29 debt-to-earnings ratio looks manageable on paper, but it assumes you can trust the first-year estimate. The fact that actual four-year earnings are reported at $60,910—nearly $6,000 less—suggests the initial projection may not hold for Panola's specific context. For comparison, Rio Grande Valley College reports $45,266 for similar programs, which is substantially lower and might be more reflective of what Texas community college nursing programs actually deliver.

The core challenge here is that both key figures are estimates drawn from peer programs, not Panola's actual graduate outcomes. If your student plans to work in rural East Texas where Panola is located, those earnings could be significantly lower than the national benchmark suggests. Before committing, get concrete placement data from Panola itself—where do their graduates actually work, and what do they earn?