Health and Physical Education/Fitness at William Woods University

The explosive 90% earnings jump at William Woods—from $24,329 to $46,199—looks impressive on paper, but that first year tells a troubling story. Even among Missouri's fitness education programs, this ranks in just the 25th percentile, trailing nearby options like Missouri Baptist ($37,165) and Missouri Western ($36,557) that offer stronger starting positions. That $24,000 first-year salary is remarkably low for a bachelor's degree holder, potentially reflecting limited local job opportunities in Fulton or graduates taking part-time positions while pursuing coaching certifications or graduate credentials.

The eventual bounce to $46,000 by year four does recover value, but parents should recognize that initial struggle period involves making payments on $25,545 in debt while earning entry-level service wages. The debt burden itself is typical for this field, but it hits harder when paired with such weak initial earnings. The small sample size here matters—we're likely looking at outcomes for fewer than 30 graduates, which could mean one or two outliers significantly skew these numbers.

For families committed to staying in Missouri, consider whether your student has the financial cushion to weather that first year or whether a program offering $33,000+ out of the gate would reduce stress during the critical debt repayment period. That fourth-year number suggests something clicks for these graduates eventually, but the path there requires patience and probably additional financial support.