Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at The College of Health Care Professions-Northwest

Similar allied health programs across Texas suggest first-year earnings around $44,000, but something concerning emerges in year four: earnings drop to $30,399. This backward trajectory is unusual and raises questions about career progression in this field—or whether graduates are finding stable full-time work in their trained specialty. With estimated debt around $27,000 based on comparable programs at this institution, you're looking at nearly a full year's earnings (at the year-four figure) to pay off loans.

The debt load itself isn't extreme compared to some healthcare programs, but the declining earnings pattern changes the calculation significantly. If similar programs' year-one estimates prove accurate, the 0.62 debt-to-earnings ratio is manageable. But if your child's trajectory follows that year-four number instead, they'll be earning roughly $14,000 less than expected while carrying the same debt burden. For context, several community colleges in Texas report graduates earning $51,000-$53,000 in allied health fields—outcomes that would make this investment far more sensible.

Given that two-thirds of students here receive Pell grants, financial outcomes matter enormously for this population. The uncertainty around both the initial earnings estimates and the unexplained earnings decline makes this a difficult program to recommend without understanding why that drop occurs. If it's specific to this school or reflects broader field instability, that's information you need before committing $27,000 in debt.