Is Graceland University-Lamoni Worth It?

Graceland University-Lamoni gives you a mixed financial return that depends almost entirely on your major. The median graduate earns about $47,000 ten years out against a net price near $16,000 a year, and median debt of $21,212 stays close to that first-year salary. That balance works only if you land in the right program.

Nursing is the clear payoff. At $63,005, nursing graduates out-earn every other bachelor's program here by a wide margin, and they do it while carrying about the same debt as everyone else. If you come to Graceland for nursing, the math makes sense.

The rest of the programs tell a harder story. Business administration graduates earn about $36,000, and they carry more debt ($22,742) than nurses do while earning $27,000 less. Teacher education and health and physical education land near $30,000 with the highest debt loads on the list, above $24,000 and $25,000. Borrowing $25,791 to earn $29,685 as a physical education graduate is a bad trade.

The bigger risk is finishing at all. Only 64 percent of students return after the first year, and just 38 percent graduate. If you borrow and leave without a degree, you get the debt without the earnings that justify it. That completion risk applies to every major, nursing included.

Net price barely moves with income. Families under $30,000 pay about $14,400, roughly what families in the $48,000 to $75,000 range pay, while households over $110,000 pay closer to $19,600. Lower-income families do not get the steep discount many private schools offer, so budget for the full sticker.

Come here for nursing and expect to finish, and Graceland pays off. Come for business, teaching, or physical education, and you should compare the debt against cheaper in-state options first.