Health and Medical Administrative Services at Ross College-Canton

Ross College-Canton's medical administrative certificate gets students working quickly at around $29,000 annually, but those earnings essentially flatline over the next several years. With 82% of students on Pell grants, this program serves a population that needs immediate income—and it delivers that. The $9,500 in debt is manageable at roughly four months of earnings, giving graduates breathing room that many certificate programs don't provide.

The challenge is what happens next. While this program performs respectably—60th percentile among Ohio's 85 similar programs—the complete absence of earnings growth suggests limited career advancement. Compare this to Stark State College graduates in the same field earning $36,000, or even UC system programs at $34,500. That $5,000-6,000 annual gap compounds significantly over a career. You're essentially choosing between faster entry to the workforce versus programs that might take slightly longer but position graduates for better long-term prospects.

For students needing immediate employment with minimal debt, this works. The program delivers exactly what it promises: quick entry into medical administrative work with debt you can actually handle. But if your child can manage a slightly longer program at a community college like Stark State, those extra months of education could translate into materially better earnings that make a real difference over time.