Marketing at Sullivan University

Sullivan University's associate degree in marketing comes with an estimated debt load of $27,167—about 40% higher than the national median for similar programs. That's meaningful when nationwide, marketing associate's programs typically produce $42,000 in first-year earnings. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.65 suggests graduates would need to dedicate about eight months of gross income to pay off their loans, which is manageable territory for an associate's degree.

The challenge here is uncertainty. With only two schools offering marketing associate's programs in Kentucky and no publicly available outcomes data for either, you're flying blind on what local market conditions actually look like. The national estimates suggest a reasonable starting point—$42,000 is respectable for a two-year credential—but Sullivan's above-average estimated debt could compress margins if actual earnings come in lower. The school's 11% Pell grant rate also indicates a predominantly higher-income student body, which may or may not reflect your family's financial situation and tolerance for debt.

Given the thin data, treat this as a moderate-risk investment. If your child can graduate with significantly less than $27,000 in debt through scholarships or family contributions, the fundamentals improve considerably. Otherwise, you'll want concrete evidence—job placement rates, employer relationships, actual graduate outcomes from Sullivan—before committing to debt levels that exceed typical programs by this margin.