Bay de
Noc Community College
Public Community College in Escanaba, MI. Six-year graduation rate 30%. Median 10-year earnings $35,090.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $35,090, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 30% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Median debt at graduation is $12,618, a light load against those earnings.
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
- ! Mobility score 0.7 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Graduation rate 30% — below national average
Academics
Only 30% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. 59% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. 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. 23% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The part-time picture is harder: 29% return, against 59% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,079 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $12,417 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $9,204 at $0–30k against $16,533 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 70% get grants averaging $9,116, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 33% 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 · 144 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 | $9,204 |
| $30–48k | $10,730 |
| $48–75k | $11,632 |
| $75–110k | $16,405 |
| $110k+ | $16,533 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 360 of these 1,079 students, totalling $2,326,888 — an average of $6,464 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Delta 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)