Is New Mexico Highlands University Worth It?

New Mexico Highlands University gives you a mixed financial picture that leans risky. The median graduate earns about $46,000 ten years out, and median debt sits low at around $11,000, so the debt load alone won't sink you. The problem is finishing. A 26% graduation rate and a 57% retention rate mean you have better than even odds of leaving without the degree that justifies the cost, and paying four years of net price for no credential is the real danger here.

Nursing is the clear payoff. At roughly $81,000 with $10,000 in debt, it earns more than double any other program on this list and is the one degree here that pays for itself quickly. Everything else clusters low. Business Administration, Special Education, Criminal Justice, and Teacher Education all land in the low $30,000s or under. Teacher Education is the worst combination: about $30,000 in earnings against $16,325 in debt, the highest debt of any program listed paired with the lowest pay.

The net price tiers are unusually flat. If your family earns under $30,000, you pay about $13,500 a year. if you earn over $110,000, you pay about $14,800. There's almost no discount for lower income here, so a working-class family carries nearly the same annual cost as a wealthy one. Budget for the full net price regardless of income.

This school fits you if you're set on nursing and confident you'll graduate. If you're aiming at teaching, criminal justice, or business, the earnings don't clear much above what a high school graduate makes, and the flat pricing gives lower-income families no relief. Look elsewhere if you're unsure you'll finish or if your target major is anything but nursing.