Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
- Private for-profit school
- Nashville, TN
- About 17 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting diagnostic and treatment professions graduates earn more than graduates of most diagnostic and treatment professions programs nationally, $75,955 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $19,825 in federal loans, close to the national median of $18,592. It is one of the higher-paying diagnostic and treatment professions degrees in Tennessee.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Tennessee and national columns are the medians across all diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Tennessee diagnostic and treatment professions program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Tennessee medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $210 a month, or 3.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Nashville area are about 4% below the national average, so a $75,955 salary here buys what about $78,842 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to diagnostic and treatment professions, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
$64,630Median pay in Tennessee. 4,660 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
Emergency Medical Technicians
$40,330Median pay in Tennessee. 3,860 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Physician Assistants
$118,240Median pay in Tennessee. 2,240 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 21% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Respiratory Therapists
$72,140Median pay in Tennessee. 3,440 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
About Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions is the only associate's program at Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting that reports first-year earnings.
Other diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs near Nashville
Common questions
The median graduate earns $75,955 one year after graduating. The median across diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs in Tennessee is $47,498.
The median federal loan balance is $19,825, which ranks 5th lowest of 8 diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs in Tennessee. That works out to about $210 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 26% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 34%.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Tennessee comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the diagnostic and treatment professions program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024