Is Point Loma Nazarene University Worth It?

Point Loma Nazarene University runs a high net price of about $50,000 a year, and median earnings ten years out land near $64,000. That gap is the core problem here. You pay private-school prices, but the typical payoff sits in territory that many cheaper public schools match or beat. The saving grace is debt: a median around $23,000 is manageable against those earnings, so this is not a school that buries you.

Nursing is the clear winner. At roughly $85,000, it outearns every other program listed and does it in San Diego, where hospital demand is steady. If you come here for nursing, the math works even at full price. Finance and accounting follow, both landing in the mid-$60,000s, which covers your costs and keeps debt reasonable.

Marketing and journalism are the warning signs. Marketing grads earn around $46,000 and journalism around $42,000. Against a $50,000 sticker price, those numbers do not justify the cost, and San Diego's living expenses make them harder still. If either is your plan, the private tuition is tough to defend.

The net price tiers are the sharpest risk. Even if your family earns under $30,000, you still pay close to $45,000, and the discount barely widens as income drops. Lower-income families get little relief here, so the aid does not scale the way it should. A 74% graduation rate and 86% retention mean most people finish, which protects you from paying for years without a degree.

This school fits you if you want nursing or a numbers-heavy business path and can absorb the price. If you are headed into marketing, journalism, or arrive from a low-income household expecting deep aid, look harder at cheaper options first.