Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences at South University-Virginia Beach

Graduates from this program earn slightly above the national median but carry more than double the typical debt load for allied health degrees. At $57,500, the debt here is nearly three times the Virginia state average of $27,000 and ranks in just the 5th percentile nationally—meaning 95% of comparable programs leave students with less debt.

The earnings trajectory offers modest growth from $36,654 to $40,651 over four years, enough to match the Virginia median but still well below the national 75th percentile of nearly $40,000 in year one. With a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.57, graduates are looking at monthly loan payments that could consume a significant chunk of their paycheck for a decade or more. The high Pell grant percentage (51%) suggests many students here are already financially vulnerable, making this debt burden particularly concerning.

For Virginia families, this is a tough trade. South University-Virginia Beach delivers median in-state earnings but with debt levels that are simply out of step with what other Virginia programs require. Marymount University, for comparison, produces similar outcomes at roughly half the debt cost. Unless this program offers specific credentials or connections unavailable elsewhere in Virginia, the financial structure here makes it hard to recommend over less expensive alternatives.