Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Carolina Campus

The earnings data here raises serious red flags, even accounting for Puerto Rico's lower wage scale. While this program's debt load of $5,750 is modest and actually below the state median, graduates earn just $5,010 in their first year—less than half what graduates from other PR nursing assistant programs make. Even among the 18 programs in Puerto Rico, this ranks in just the 10th percentile, trailing far behind leaders like Antilles School of Technical Careers at $11,508.

The dramatic 232% earnings jump to $16,649 by year four suggests many graduates may start in part-time roles or face employment gaps before finding stable work. However, even that four-year figure remains below Puerto Rico's median of $9,355 for first-year earnings in this field. The gulf between this program and the national median of $44,134 reflects both Puerto Rico's economic challenges and this program's particularly weak outcomes.

The small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could shift significantly with more data, but the pattern is troubling enough to warrant serious alternatives. With 70% of students receiving Pell grants, most families here are making education decisions on tight budgets. Look hard at the top-performing PR programs—they cost about the same but deliver double the first-year earnings. That difference matters enormously when starting salaries are already this low.