Is Concordia University-Wisconsin Worth It?

Concordia University-Wisconsin lands in solid but unspectacular territory. You pay $26,067 a year, walk out with about $25,750 in debt, and hit $56,075 in median earnings a decade later. That debt-to-earnings ratio is manageable, and the 64% graduation rate means most of you finish, which is the single biggest factor in whether the money works out.

Nursing is the clear winner here. It pays over $62,000 and carries debt roughly in line with the school average, so the return is strong and predictable given the steady demand for nurses across the Milwaukee metro and Wisconsin health systems. Accounting, human resources, business administration, and computer science all land in the low $50,000s. Those are respectable, but notice computer science trails nursing by more than $11,000 at this school, which flips the usual expectation. If tech is your goal, Concordia's CS outcomes are average, not a draw.

The main financial risk is the 78% retention rate. One in five of you won't return after freshman year, and leaving with debt but no degree is the worst outcome available. Weigh that before you enroll.

Net price barely moves with income. If your family earns under $30,000, you still pay over $19,000 a year, and the gap between the lowest and highest income tiers is only about $10,000. Aid here does not deeply discount for low-income families, so the sticker shock is real if you're paying out of a modest household budget.

This school fits you if you're headed into nursing or healthcare and want a private-college setting with reliable job outcomes nearby. If you're chasing high tech salaries or need aid to make a private-school price feasible, look at your public in-state options first.