Public Health at Seton Hill University

Based on peer programs in Pennsylvania, a public health bachelor's from Seton Hill would leave students carrying roughly $27,000 in debt—a figure that nearly matches the national median for this field. With first-year earnings estimated around $39,000, graduates would face a manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.69, meaning they'd owe about 8 months of their first year's salary. This positions the program right at the state median for both outcomes, suggesting neither exceptional value nor alarming risk compared to other Pennsylvania options.

The challenge is that we're working entirely with estimates here, since Seton Hill's graduate sample was too small for the Department of Education to report actual outcomes. The state benchmarks come from just 9 programs for earnings and 7 for debt, meaning there's real variability across Pennsylvania's public health landscape. Schools like Franklin and Marshall and Temple report first-year earnings above $43,000—roughly 10% higher than the state median—while the estimated figure for Seton Hill sits at the middle of the pack alongside larger institutions like Drexel.

For families deciding whether to commit, the key question is whether $27,000 in debt makes sense when the earnings picture remains uncertain. If your child graduates into the typical Pennsylvania outcome, the debt load should be serviceable with standard loan payments. But without program-specific data, you're making this investment based on how similar programs perform statewide, not on Seton Hill's own track record in launching public health careers.