Undergraduate certificate · Scranton, Pennsylvania

Is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 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 0.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $91,950; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $91,020; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $13,917; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $34k (likely $34k – $46k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $52k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in PA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 0.9 years (likely 0.6–1.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $433k (likely $271k – $616k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $933k (likely $612k – $1.29M); Today's dollars