Barton County
Community College
Public Community College in Great Bend, KS. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $40,428.
Students who entered Barton County Community College reach a median of $40,428 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 33% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $9,501, a light load against those earnings. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.7% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.24 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 33% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 33% graduate within six years. Retention is weak: only 52% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. Transfer-out runs to 15% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. The part-time picture is harder: 20% return, against 52% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,374 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $8,803 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $10,020 at $0–30k against $11,147 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 54% of students at an average of $5,508. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 15% 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 · 468 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 | $10,020 |
| $30–48k | $8,027 |
| $48–75k | $10,270 |
| $75–110k | $11,117 |
| $110k+ | $11,147 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 347 of these 2,374 students, totalling $2,163,498 — an average of $6,235 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Barton 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)