Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Southeast Arkansas College

Based on comparable nursing programs across Arkansas, Southeast Arkansas College appears positioned in the middle of the pack for a field where credentials translate directly to employment. With estimated first-year earnings around $67,000 against roughly $17,000 in debt, the financial picture looks manageable—that's a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.26, well below concerning thresholds. Arkansas nursing programs show a fairly tight earnings range overall, though a few community colleges like Phillips and ASU-Newport manage to place graduates about $7,000-$11,000 higher annually.

The estimated debt figure sits slightly below the state median, which matters at a school where 63% of students receive Pell grants. Nursing offers one of the clearest paths to stable income among two-year credentials, and peer programs in Arkansas consistently produce earnings that dwarf the educational investment. However, it's worth noting that top-performing programs in the state demonstrate noticeably better outcomes, suggesting that not all ADN programs yield identical results even within Arkansas's relatively uniform nursing market.

For families, the key question is whether Southeast Arkansas College provides the clinical training quality and NCLEX pass rates to match its stronger in-state competitors. The estimated financials suggest this program wouldn't saddle graduates with crushing debt, but finding actual placement and licensure data from the school itself would clarify whether it's delivering the full value that Arkansas nursing programs can offer.