Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences at Rush University

Rush University's bachelor's program in health sciences carries $26,834 in debt—right at the national median—but the earnings picture is harder to pin down. Since the DOE suppresses this program's actual outcomes, we're working with estimates based on five similar Illinois programs, which suggest first-year earnings around $34,806. That puts the debt at about 77% of first-year income, a manageable ratio if those earnings hold true. For context, North Park University's comparable program reports graduates earning $40,374, while UIC's come in at $29,735, showing the wide range within Illinois alone.

The challenge here is that Rush is primarily known as a health sciences graduate institution, and the specific trajectory for this undergraduate program isn't clear from the available data. If it's functioning as a pipeline to Rush's own graduate health programs or Chicago's major medical centers, students may see stronger outcomes than the state median suggests. But if graduates enter the workforce immediately, that $34,806 estimate—barely above the national median—means a tight first few years financially, especially in Chicago's high cost-of-living environment.

Given the uncertainty, families should ask Rush directly what percentage of graduates continue to their graduate programs versus enter the workforce, and where recent bachelor's degree holders have landed. Without program-specific outcomes, you're betting on Rush's institutional reputation translating to undergraduate value—a reasonable bet for their known strengths, but one that requires verification before committing to nearly $27,000 in debt.