Health and Medical Administrative Services at Walden University

Walden's Health and Medical Administrative Services program charges a premium price—graduates carry $51,904 in debt, nearly 50% more than the Minnesota median—but delivers decidedly middle-of-the-pack returns. At $52,398, first-year earnings match the state median exactly, placing this program in Minnesota's 60th percentile. That means you're paying top-tier debt for average outcomes in a state where schools like Capella and University of Minnesota-Crookston produce graduates earning $10,000 more annually.

The national picture looks superficially better—80th percentile for earnings—but that's misleading context for a Minnesota family. Your child will be competing for jobs and cost-of-living in Minneapolis, not Boise or Birmingham. The real comparison is to Minnesota alternatives, where this program underperforms most competitors while saddling students with significantly more debt. The 1-to-1 debt-to-earnings ratio means graduates start owing nearly an entire year's salary, and with just 2% earnings growth over four years, there's little trajectory to make that burden lighter.

For an online program serving many Pell-eligible students (50%), these debt levels are particularly concerning. If your child needs flexibility and is set on Walden, understand they'll likely graduate with $15,000-20,000 more debt than peers at Minnesota public universities earning similar or better salaries. That difference compounds over years of repayment.