Is Southwest Texas Junior College Worth It?

Southwest Texas Junior College keeps costs low and debt lower, which is the foundation of its financial case. You borrow a median of $6,200, and the sticker net price runs under $8,000 a year. That low debt load matters because the school's median earnings ten years out sit around $35,500, which is modest and leaves little room to carry heavy loans.

The return depends almost entirely on your program. Registered Nursing at the associate level pays roughly $62,000, nearly double the school-wide median and the clearest payoff here. Allied Health Diagnostic and Treatment programs follow at about $56,000. Both put you well ahead of the typical graduate. Criminal Justice lands around $41,500, decent for the debt involved. The certificate paths are weaker. Precision Metal Working brings in about $36,500, and Practical/Vocational Nursing pays under $31,000 while carrying $9,000 in debt, more than the school's overall median debt for a lower payout. That certificate is the one to think hard about.

The main risk is the 33% graduation rate. You only capture these earnings if you finish, and two out of three students here don't graduate on schedule. A cheap program you don't complete still costs you time and any loans you took.

This school fits you if you're aiming at nursing or allied health and want to keep debt near zero, especially if your family earns under $30k, where net price drops to about $6,755. If your family earns over $110k, your net price climbs past $13,500, and the value case gets thinner unless you're locked into a high-earning health program. Look elsewhere if you want a certificate outside nursing or health, since those earnings barely clear the school median.