Amarillo College
Public Community College in Amarillo, TX. Six-year graduation rate 32%. Median 10-year earnings $41,302.
Ten-year median earnings of $41,302 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Only 32% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates leave owing a median of $15,000 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 32% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 32% graduate within six years. 68% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. 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. Retention drops to 45% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 19:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,347 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $5,019 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $3,856 at $0–30k, $8,143 at $110k+. 62% of students receive grant aid, averaging $4,711 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 16% 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 · 1,112 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 | $3,856 |
| $30–48k | $4,129 |
| $48–75k | $5,556 |
| $75–110k | $6,328 |
| $110k+ | $8,143 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,146 of these 7,347 students, totalling $5,548,018 — an average of $4,841 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Potter 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)