Is Motlow State Community College Worth It?

Motlow State gives you a workable financial return, but the outcome depends entirely on which program you finish. At roughly $10,400 a year, this is a low-cost school, and the median graduate earns about $40,000 a decade out. That covers your costs, but it isn't a large payoff, and the 28.7% graduation rate is the biggest threat to getting any return at all.

Nursing is where the money is. The associate nursing program leads to earnings of about $52,000, more than double what the general Liberal Arts and Sciences track produces. If you come to Motlow, the nursing pipeline is the clearest path to a wage that justifies the cost, and it feeds directly into hospital and clinic jobs across middle Tennessee.

The Liberal Arts associate degree is the cautionary example. At around $24,600 in earnings, it pays close to what you might make without any degree, and the point of that program is transfer to a four-year school, not employment. If you stop after the associate and enter the workforce, the return is weak. The upside is the low debt, around $3,500, so the financial damage from stopping there is limited.

The main risk here is not cost, it's completion. With fewer than a third of students graduating, you carry real odds of paying for credits, borrowing, and leaving without a credential to show for it.

This school fits you if you want nursing or a cheap, low-debt start before transferring. Net price barely moves by income, from about $9,800 at the bottom to $15,200 at the top, so lower-income families get the strongest deal here. If you plan a terminal Liberal Arts degree and then a job, look elsewhere.