Is Mount Marty University Worth It?

Mount Marty University runs a mixed financial return. Your median earnings ten years out land just under $48,200, while median debt sits around $26,400. That debt-to-earnings ratio is manageable, but only if you pick the right major, because the spread between programs here is wide.

Nursing is the clear winner. It pays close to $57,000 and carries $27,000 in debt, which is a workable trade given how steady nursing jobs are across South Dakota and the surrounding rural markets that depend on regional hospitals. If you come here for nursing, the numbers work.

Everything else pays less. Teacher education, accounting, and criminal justice all land between roughly $39,700 and $42,000. Teacher education specifically carries the same $27,000 debt load as nursing while paying about $15,000 less per year, so you take on identical borrowing for a much smaller paycheck. South Dakota teacher and public-sector salaries are low, and these numbers reflect that. Go in knowing the return will be slow.

The main risk is retention. Only about 70% of you come back for a second year, and the six-year graduation rate sits near 61%. If you borrow and leave without a degree, you carry the debt with none of the earnings, which is the worst outcome here.

On price, the tiers barely move for middle and upper incomes. Families earning under $30,000 pay around $18,900, but that only drops to roughly $20,300 in the next bracket, then jumps past $25,000 once you clear $48,000 in income. Middle-income families get little relief.

This school fits you if you want nursing and plan to work in the region. If you are aiming at education or criminal justice and would need heavy loans, price out cheaper in-state public options first.