Bachelor's · Denver, Colorado

Is Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems at Metropolitan State University of Denver worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 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 16.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $36,096; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $49,158; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $19,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $62k (likely $59k – $83k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $5k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CO; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 16.1 years (likely 8.8–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$247k (likely −$332k – −$164k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$162k (likely −$311k – $13k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 31%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26

Change income, residency or loans Compare Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems at other schools

🩺 Getting ready in high school

Students heading toward health & medicine majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.

AP classes

AP Biology
AP Chemistry
AP Psychology
AP Statistics

IB Higher Level

Biology HL
Chemistry HL

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