Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions at Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo Campus

A debt load around $30,000 against first-year earnings of $40,000 looks manageable on paper—peer programs nationally suggest a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.76, meaning graduates would owe roughly nine months of their annual salary. But context matters enormously here. This is a bachelor's program at a campus where 83% of students receive Pell grants, serving a primarily low-income population in Puerto Rico. These families often have less financial cushion to help with loan payments, and PR's cost of living, while lower than the mainland US, still requires careful budgeting on a $40,000 salary.

The bigger uncertainty is whether these national estimates translate well to Puerto Rico's distinct labor market. With only one program of this type in the territory, we're essentially extrapolating from mainland outcomes where healthcare and social service sectors may operate quite differently. Mental and social health services can lead to stable careers—the field addresses genuine community needs—but salary growth and job availability in PR may not mirror national patterns. For a family weighing substantial debt, the lack of local comparison data makes this a harder call. If your child is committed to staying in Puerto Rico and serving their community in this field, understand you're taking on risk that's difficult to quantify with the available information.