Social Work at Texas College

The numbers here are genuinely alarming: graduates earning $17,759 one year out while carrying $34,000 in debt—a ratio of nearly 2-to-1 that makes monthly loan payments virtually impossible on those wages. That's less than half what social work graduates earn at comparable Texas institutions like Prairie View A&M ($40,667) or Texas Southern ($42,333), and barely half the state median of $37,401. This program ranks in just the 10th percentile among Texas social work programs, meaning nine out of ten alternatives in the state deliver better outcomes.

The small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these figures could shift with more data, but they align with troubling patterns at institutions where 85% of students need Pell grants yet graduate into poverty-level wages with substantial debt. At these earnings, a graduate would struggle to manage the standard 10-year loan repayment, which would consume over half their gross income. Income-driven repayment becomes essential, but even that requires difficult financial sacrifices.

For families considering this program, understand that social work degrees elsewhere in Texas—even at similarly-priced public universities—produce earnings more than twice as high. Unless circumstances absolutely require attending this specific institution, exploring alternatives would be financially prudent.