Is State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota Worth It?

State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota gives you a low-debt, modest-return outcome. Median debt sits at $9,000, one of the lightest loads you'll find, and ten-year median earnings land around $40,000. You won't leave here buried, but you also won't earn much above what a Florida associate degree or trade would pay.

The nursing program is the clear financial winner. Registered Nursing graduates pull about $60,000, nearly $25,000 more than the health and medical administrative services track, which comes in under $36,000 despite carrying a bachelor's label. If you're paying for four years here, nursing is the path that justifies the cost. Health administration barely clears the school's own overall median, so think hard before borrowing for it.

The biggest risk is the 34.9% graduation rate. Two-thirds of students don't finish, and if you're one of them, you pay the net price without the degree that makes the earnings worth it. That's the number that should worry you more than debt.

The net price structure is unusual and works against low-income families in a strange way. If your family earns under $30,000, you pay about $21,200 a year, which is actually less than the $26,000 charged to families in the $30,000 to $75,000 range. The middle-income brackets carry the heaviest cost here, so if you land in that band, the math is tighter than it looks.

This school fits you if you're aiming at nursing, want to keep borrowing low, and are confident you'll finish. Look elsewhere if you're drawn to the lower-paying programs or unsure about completing, since the weak graduation rate turns a cheap degree into an expensive gamble.