Undergraduate certificate · Pharr, Texas

Is Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Rio Grande Valley College worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ 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 1.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $52,997; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $61,980; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $11,867; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $22k (likely $22k – $22k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $25k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.6 years (likely 1.4–2.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $187k (likely $151k – $228k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $500k (likely $399k – $618k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 74%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26