Associate's · Altus, Oklahoma

Is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Western Oklahoma State College worth it?

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

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

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 0.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $79,761; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $94,335; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $10,500; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $17k (likely $17k – $22k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $59k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in OK; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 0.5 years (likely 0.4–0.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $497k (likely $412k – $582k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.20M (likely $1.01M – $1.42M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 39%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26