Associate's · Wahpeton, North Dakota

Is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at North Dakota State College of Science 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 fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $69,423; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $74,514; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $20,375; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $30k (likely $25k – $36k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $31k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in ND; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.5 years (likely 1.0–2.2); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $163k (likely $66k – $269k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $498k (likely $306k – $724k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 54%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26