First professional · Fullerton, California

Is Optometry at Marshall B Ketchum University worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $104,680; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $134,197; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $221,444; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $235k (likely $235k – $235k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $65k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 6.9 years (likely 5.9–8.2); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$77k (likely −$190k – $48k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $717k (likely $466k – $1.02M); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.