Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Pikes Peak State College

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.29 suggests a manageable financial outcome for nursing students at Pikes Peak State College, though both the earnings and debt figures here are drawn from peer programs rather than this school's actual graduate data. Based on the national median for similar nursing certificates and diplomas, graduates typically earn around $66,398 in their first year—a solid entry point for healthcare work. The estimated $19,250 debt load, derived from comparable programs at the same type of institution, would require roughly three-and-a-half months of gross pay to cover, which is reasonable for a credential program.

The picture looks slightly less competitive when you consider Colorado's nursing market specifically. Other community college nursing programs in the state report median earnings near $70,000, about $3,500 higher than the national baseline used here. Pueblo Community College, for instance, shows actual reported earnings of $69,953 for its nursing graduates. That gap matters when you're budgeting for loan payments and living expenses in Colorado Springs, where costs continue to climb.

The fundamental question is whether this particular program delivers outcomes in line with its state peers or falls closer to the national average. Without reported data specific to Pikes Peak, you're making an educated guess based on similar programs elsewhere. If your child can secure admission to a Colorado nursing program with documented outcomes in the $70,000 range, that provides more certainty. Otherwise, this appears workable but comes with unknowns about where exactly it sits among Colorado's nursing options.