Southwestern Oklahoma State Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
- Public university
- Weatherford, OK
- About 27 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Southwestern Oklahoma State allied health and medical assisting graduates earn more than graduates of most allied health and medical assisting programs nationally, $43,773 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $15,750 in federal loans, close to the national median of $19,000. Several Oklahoma programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Oklahoma and national columns are the medians across all allied health and medical assisting associate's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Oklahoma allied health and medical assisting program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Oklahoma 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 $167 a month, or 4.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
93% of graduates (37 of 40) were working in Oklahoma one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Oklahoma outside metro areas are about 16% below the national average, so a $43,773 salary here buys what about $52,375 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 allied health and medical assisting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Medical Assistants
$38,750Median pay in Oklahoma. 10,510 people work in this job in Oklahoma. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 109,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Pharmacy Technicians
$40,500Median pay in Oklahoma. 5,500 people work in this job in Oklahoma. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 44,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
$53,300Median pay in Oklahoma. 4,250 people work in this job in Oklahoma. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 20,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Surgical Technologists
$61,190Median pay in Oklahoma. 1,940 people work in this job in Oklahoma. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
About Southwestern Oklahoma State
Allied Health and Medical Assisting is the only associate's program at Southwestern Oklahoma State that reports first-year earnings.
Common questions
The median graduate earns $43,773 one year after graduating. The median across allied health and medical assisting associate's programs in Oklahoma is $43,773.
The median federal loan balance is $15,750, which ranks 3rd lowest of 6 allied health and medical assisting associate's programs in Oklahoma. That works out to about $167 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 36% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 50%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Oklahoma programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 93% (37 of 40) were working in Oklahoma one year after graduating.
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 Oklahoma 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 allied health and medical assisting 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