Undergraduate certificate · San Jose, California

Is Health and Medical Administrative Services at Carrington College-San Jose worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 13.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $38,384; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $44,326; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $10,044; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $49k (likely $49k – $66k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $4k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 13.3 years (likely 10.0–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$66k (likely −$94k – −$40k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $12k (likely −$52k – $88k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 60%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26