Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Southwestern College

Southwestern College nursing graduates earn about $7,000 more than the typical Kansas nursing graduate—landing in the 60th percentile statewide—but they carry nearly double the debt compared to state and national medians. That debt load of $46,120 is unusually high for nursing programs, placing this school in the 95th percentile nationally for debt burden.

The 0.61 debt-to-earnings ratio means graduates owe roughly seven months of their first-year salary, which isn't catastrophic for a field with stable employment. New nurses here start around $75,000, competitive with top Kansas programs like Ottawa University. However, given the small graduating class (under 30 students), these numbers could shift significantly year to year, and a few outliers could be skewing the data either direction.

The central question is whether paying $19,000 more in debt than the Kansas median is worth a $7,000 earnings advantage. Over a nursing career, that gap could close or widen depending on individual career paths. For families weighing this against less expensive Kansas options that produce similar outcomes—like Washburn University—the higher debt here demands serious consideration of financial aid packages and alternative funding sources.