Aims Community College
Public Community College in Greeley, CO. Six-year graduation rate 40%. Median 10-year earnings $41,887.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $41,887, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 40% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates leave owing a median of $6,844 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.16 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Only 40% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential. Retention of 72% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 46% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. At 17:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,182 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $8,384 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $10,196 at $0–30k, $16,344 at $110k+. Grant aid is limited — 46% of students receive any. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 6% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 493 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $10,196 |
| $30–48k | $10,625 |
| $48–75k | $12,570 |
| $75–110k | $14,579 |
| $110k+ | $16,344 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 191 of these 3,182 students, totalling $937,063 — an average of $4,906 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Weld County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)