March 28, 2024

What is Reasonable Tuition For a Health Informatics Degree Program?

Reasonable tuition for a graduate Health Informatics degree program is what is reasonable for you. Estimating a maximum cost of program attendance that is based on your current resources and projected salary will help you meet your financial goals.

The Real Cost Of Attendance

When calculating HOW MUCH YOU SHOULD PAY TO ATTEND A GRADUATE HEALTH INFORMATICS PROGRAM, you need to factor in expenses such as books and fees. You also need to consider living expenses such as rent, utilities and food. When estimating student living expenses, schools, and the federal government use the federal poverty level as a guideline to determine eligibility and income-based payments for student loans. In 2016, the federal poverty level was $11,880 for an individual and $24,300 for a family of four. Although you may tend to spend more now, you should do everything in your power to reduce expenses to as close to this level as possible.

How Much Can You Afford to Spend on School?

In addition to living expenses, books, and fees, you need to consider your existing expenses. While it may not be that difficult to reduce your living expenses to $11,880 if you are lucky enough to live rent-free with your parents, that figure may not even cover rent and utilities in many cities. Since the average reported health information manager salary is $69,880, you will need to keep total student loan debt to a maximum of $65,000 for a two-year graduate program to have a reasonable monthly student loan repayment of $652 on the standard payment plan. To the federal government, reasonable is defined as no more than 15% of your monthly adjusted gross income.

Family Matters

If you have a family, you have more expenses than a single individual. Since feeding and housing your family requires extra money, the average adjusted gross income of a health information manager with a family of four is $46,830. This translates into a recommended maximum student loan of $55,000 for a two-year graduate health informatics program, or a monthly student loan payment of $552. Although you have more expenses, more time in the working world means that you may have so you may have some money saved to help increase your maximum tuition for a reasonably-priced graduate health informatics degree program.

Is It Worth It?

When considering if tuition for a graduate informatics degree program is reasonable, you need to determine if it is truly worth it for you. You need to ask yourself hard questions such as, “Is the sacrifice of time and effort worth it?” and “Will I be able to recoup lost wages in enough time to avoid bankruptcy and other financial difficulties?” You also need to be able to afford a program attached to recognized national accreditation body, so your employment applications don’t automatically get diverted to the trash and employers will offer you a competitive salary.

Pursuing graduate education in informatics is about expanding your opportunities to improve the world and your own situation, including your finances. While determining what you should be spending for graduate tuition in a health informatics program, it will save you quite a bit of time and money in the future.

Related resource:

Top 20 Health Informatics Degrees