Valley Grande Institute for Academic Studies Health and Medical Administration (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Health and Medical Administrative Services
- Private nonprofit school
- Weslaco, TX
- About 5 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Valley Grande Institute for Academic Studies health and medical administration graduates earn less than graduates of most health and medical administration programs nationally, $11,744 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $7,019 in federal loans, less than at 96% of health and medical administration programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Texas median of $25,745.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Texas and national columns are the medians across all health and medical administration certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Valley Grande Institute for Academic Studies graduates earn less than the national figure and about $6,207 less than the Texas median. Several Texas programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Texas health and medical administration program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Texas medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 119% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $74 a month, or 7.6% 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
89% of graduates (25 of 28) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the McAllen area are about 14% below the national average, so a $11,744 salary here buys what about $13,673 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 health and medical administration, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
$64,940Median pay in Texas. 160,600 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 127,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
$42,910Median pay in Texas. 78,740 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 89,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Medical Assistants
$39,520Median pay in Texas. 75,340 people work in this job in Texas. 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.
Computer User Support Specialists
$59,490Median pay in Texas. 72,030 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 39,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.
About Valley Grande Institute for Academic Studies
Health and Medical Administration ranks 4th of 4 certificate programs at Valley Grande Institute for Academic Studies by first-year earnings. The top three are Practical Nursing ($30,574), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($19,302), and Allied Health and Medical Assisting ($16,540).
Other health and medical administration certificate programs near Weslaco
Common questions
The median graduate earns $11,744 one year after graduating and $25,675 five years after. The median across health and medical administration certificate programs in Texas is $25,745.
The median federal loan balance is $7,019, which ranks 2nd lowest of 14 health and medical administration certificate programs in Texas. That works out to about $74 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 60% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 41%. Compare the cost with other Texas programs before deciding.
Most do. 89% (25 of 28) were working in Texas 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 Texas 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 health and medical administration 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