Is East Tennessee State University Worth It?

East Tennessee State University gives you a moderate financial return with clear winners and losers by major. The typical graduate earns $44,859 ten years out against a net price near $16,000 a year. That works because median debt sits under $20,000, so most of you leave without a crushing loan balance. The problem is the 49.9% graduation rate. Half of you won't finish in the expected time, and debt without a degree is the worst outcome here.

Your major decides everything at ETSU. Computer and Information Sciences pays the best at roughly $57,000, and Registered Nursing lands near $52,000 while keeping debt low at just over $19,000. Nursing is the strongest bet on campus: high pay, low borrowing, and steady demand across the Tri-Cities hospital system. Dental Support Services pays less but comes with the lightest debt load on this list, around $14,000. Engineering Technology pays well but carries the heaviest debt at $27,000, so it earns less per dollar borrowed than nursing does.

The specific risk here is finishing. With a 74% retention rate, one in four of you leaves after freshman year. If you drop out mid-program, you keep the debt without the earnings that justify it.

The net price tiers reward lower-income families. If your family earns under $48,000, you pay about $13,000 a year. Above $110,000, that climbs past $20,000. The jump is steep between the $48-75k and $75-110k brackets, so middle-income families feel the cost most.

ETSU fits you if you commit to nursing, computing, or a health field and plan to graduate. Look elsewhere if you're undecided or drawn to lower-earning programs, since the payoff depends entirely on finishing a field that pays.