Dental Support Services and Allied Professions at Ross Medical Education Center-Elyria

Ross Medical Education Center-Elyria's dental support program lands squarely in the middle of Ohio's offerings—ranking around the 40th percentile statewide—but the real story here is the modest debt load paired with below-average starting salaries. At $23,402 in the first year, graduates earn roughly $2,000 less than the state median and nearly $2,000 below the national benchmark. That gap matters when you're serving a predominantly low-income student body (90% receive Pell grants), where every dollar counts toward financial stability.

The $9,500 debt burden is manageable at 41% of first-year earnings, which is reasonable for a certificate program. Earnings do grow to $25,245 by year four—an 8% increase that closes some of the gap with peers—but graduates never quite catch up to competitors like Stark State College ($32,023) or even sister campus Ross-Niles ($25,352). With robust sample size backing these numbers, this isn't a data quirk; it reflects the program's actual market outcomes.

For families weighing this option, the low debt is genuinely appealing, but recognize that starting salaries lag behind other Ohio dental assistant programs by 15-20%. If your child has admission offers from higher-performing schools on the list above, those merit serious consideration. If not, this program won't saddle them with crushing debt, but they should plan for leaner early-career years than peers at top-quartile programs.