Undergraduate certificate · Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania

Is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Fayette- Eberly 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 0.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $102,813; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $116,289; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $18,750; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $13k (likely $13k – $17k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $77k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in PA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 0.3 years (likely 0.2–0.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $726k (likely $540k – $956k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.63M (likely $1.21M – $2.15M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 36%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26