Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Southeastern Louisiana University

The standout concern here isn't the starting salary—$73,910 puts nursing grads near the middle of the pack nationally and just slightly below Louisiana's median. It's what happens next: earnings drop to $66,459 by year four, a 10% decline that runs counter to normal career progression. Among Louisiana's 20 nursing programs, this ranks in the 40th percentile, meaning three out of five state alternatives deliver better outcomes. The gap is real: top Louisiana programs like Dillard ($86,585) and UL Lafayette ($80,416) start grads $7,000-$13,000 higher.

The debt picture provides some relief. At $26,500, graduates carry slightly less than both state and national medians, translating to a manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.36. For an open-access institution where a third of students receive Pell grants, that represents reasonable access without crushing debt burdens. The question is whether settling for below-median earnings makes sense when other Louisiana public universities offer nursing programs with stronger earning trajectories.

Your child can become a working nurse through Southeastern, but they'll likely earn less than peers who graduate from competing programs in-state. If geography or admission certainty makes Southeastern the practical choice, the debt load won't sink them. But if they can access Louisiana State-Alexandria or UL Lafayette, those programs deliver $8,000-$14,000 more in starting salary—a meaningful difference for the same credential.